Ekşili Kebap (Sour Plum Kebab) — Gaziantep-Style Baked Lamb Kebab

Wash the plums, remove the stems, and pat them dry. Prick each plum in two or three places with a fork; unpricked plums can build up steam inside and burst in the oven. Choose firm, glossy green plums with taut skins. Plums that have started to turn yellow are sweeter and less tart.

Grate the onion, squeeze out and discard its juice, and finely chop the parsley. Knead the ground lamb with the onion, parsley, smoky Urfa red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper for 8 minutes. When the mixture is sticky and holds your fingerprints, the meatballs will keep their shape in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Divide the mixture into 18 portions and shape them in your wet palm into flat meatballs 1.5 cm thick. Arrange them with space between them on a 30 × 35 cm baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes into ½ cm rounds and place them between the meatballs. Tuck the whole long green peppers between them.

Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The meatballs should have released their juices and begun to color lightly around the edges; their centers will not be fully cooked yet.

Whisk the pepper paste with the hot water and melted butter. Arrange the plums between the meatballs, pour the pepper-paste mixture around the edges of the pan, and bake for 15 minutes more. Remove the pan when the plums look dull and their skins have split in places, but the fruit is still whole. The center of a meatball should read 71°C / 160°F.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes so the bubbling juices settle. Divide the meatballs and plums among plates with the tart pan juices. Serve with lavash or bulgur pilaf.