Travel Episode 2: Turkish Eggplant and Green Peppers, plus Yogurt-Cucumber Salad

A short episode, for a very simple but surprisingly satisfying vegetable dish, optionally made heartier with lentils. From the Aegean coast of Turkey — but, honestly, from the Turkish Airlines inflight magazine! Eat as a side dish, or as a full meal with rice and a little yogurt-cucumber salad.

Shopping list

• Small, thin eggplants
• Turkish green peppers
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Canned or fresh tomatoes
• Brown lentils (optional)
  And if you’re making a whole meal:
• Cucumber
• Yogurt
• Dried mint
• Rice

Çığırtma (Turkish Eggplant and Green Peppers)

Ideally make this with smaller, slender eggplants, so you can nestle the eggplants and peppers together. Turkish-style green peppers are long and thin and not very meaty — see below the recipe for a photo. They’re usually mild, but occasionally some can have real heat. If you can’t get them, Anaheims would be fine, but they might need additional cooking time. If you can only get a big globe eggplant, then dice it and the peppers — a different shape, but same taste!

Lentils are my addition, totally optional. I make three portions, usually — two for dinner, and one to save.

For more on this style of cooking, see last season’s episode on oil-cooked vegetables.

For 2-3 portions
3 small, slender eggplants
2-3 glugs olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic
3 Turkish green peppers/chiles
3-4 heaping tablespoons crushed canned tomatoes, or equivalent fresh, diced
1/4 cup brown lentils (optional)
Large pinch salt

Rinse the eggplants and pull off the extra bits around the stem — but leave the stem on. Peel the eggplants in long stripes, then make a spiral cut down each one. (The easiest way to do this is set the knife diagonally on the eggplant, then rotate the eggplant.) Be careful not to cut all the way through — you still want a whole eggplant in the end.

Heat the olive oil in a large shallow pan with a good-fitting lid. Add the eggplants and brown on each side.

While the eggplants are browning, peel the garlic and leave whole. (Fine of course if you end up crunching it a little while peeling it.)

Add the green peppers to the pan (whole, no need to remove stems), nestling them in alternating with the eggplants. Scatter the garlic evenly between the vegetables. Turn down the heat to a simmer and spoon the crushed tomato evenly over the vegetables.

If using lentils, add them around the vegetables (you want them down at the bottom of the pan) along with 3/4 cup water. (Do not add water if not using lentils.)

Cover and cook without stirring until the peppers have collapsed a bit and the eggplant yields when you press it with the back of a spoon (be gentle — you want to be able to put a nice whole eggplant on a plate). If you’ve added lentils, they should be tender and the water should be cooked away. This all takes about 30 minutes.

Serve with rice, each portion getting one whole pepper and eggplant, and a few cloves of garlic.

Cacık (Turkish Cucumber-Yogurt Salad)

For two portions, use a single midsize cucumber (approximately four inches) and peel it, or use two thin-skinned Persian cucumbers without peeling. Cut into quarter-inch cubes and combine with about half a cup of yogurt. (Sheep’s-milk yogurt is great here!) Crush or very finely chop one medium clove garlic and stir in to salad. Add salt to taste. Finally add a large pinch of dried mint. Crush it between your fingers to make it finer and activate the oils, for more flavor.