Pickles and preserves
Isot is a dark red pepper from Urfa. The peppers are dried in the sun by day and sweated under cover at night, which turns them purple-black and gives them an oily, smoky-sweet flavor with a raisin-like note. Once fully dry, they are coarsely ground with salt and a little oil.
Wash the peppers and dry them completely. Cut off the stems, slit each pepper lengthwise, and scrape out most of the seeds and the white ribs; wear gloves. Arrange the split peppers in a single layer on a clean cloth, cut sides facing up.
Spread the cloth in a clean, dust-free spot with full sun. Before sunset, gather the peppers up with the cloth and cover them tightly with a thick cloth or plastic sheet; trapped warmth makes the peppers sweat overnight. Uncover and spread them out again in the morning. Repeat this gathering and spreading each day for about 10 minutes, for 5–7 days. The peppers will darken each day until they turn purple-black.
Bend a few peppers in your hand: they should release no moisture, and the skins should crackle crisply when they break. Leave any peppers that are still soft and flexible in the sun for one more day.
Grind the dried peppers in a food processor or mortar into coarse flakes, not powder. Add the salt and olive oil and rub them in by hand; the flakes should be lightly glossy but should not stick together. Pack the isot into dry, airtight jars.
Dry the peppers in the sun during the day and sweat them under cover at night for 5–7 days; this waiting time is not included in the recipe time. Before grinding, make sure the peppers are completely dry: the skins should release no moisture when bent and should crackle crisply when broken. Grinding damp peppers can lead to mold in the jar; discard any batch with mold. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for 1 year, and never put a wet spoon in the jar.
Kuruluğu ölçmek için bir biberi kırıp baktım, içi hâlâ nemliydi. İki gün daha uzattım. Kırınca çıtırdayıp kırılıyorsa hazır, eğilip bükülüyorsa nem var demek; bu basit denemeyi her akşam bir biberle yaptım.
Gece terletme adımı isotun rengini veren şeymiş. İlk yıl biberleri sürekli güneşte bıraktım, kıpkırmızı kuru biber oldu, siyahlaşmadı.
Urfa'da amcam harmanı çuvalla terletiyor, bende balkonda örtüyle oldu. Örtünün nefes alan bir bez olması şart, naylonla denediğim ilk gece biberler terleyip küflenmeye başladı ve o partiyi atmak zorunda kaldım.
Zeytinyağını çekmeden önce mi sonra mı katmalı diye tereddüt ettim, tarifteki gibi çekerken kattım ve topaklanma olmadı. Yağı azar azar, çekim sürerken akıttım; bir seferde döküp çekmeye başlayınca değirmen taşına yapışıyor.
Yağ çekim sırasında girerse isot nem tutmadan parlıyor. Sonradan katarsanız kavanozda kümeleniyor, o yüzden sıra böyle yazıldı.
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