Roasted Capsicum with Garlic Yoghurt

2011 was the year of a big milestone for me. I have turned 35, which meant that I have finished living half of my life, according to Cahit Sitki Taranci, a Turkish poet who has written the infamous poem “Age 35, half way.”

He must have known something, as funny enough, doctors tell us that at 35 the female fertility starts to decline and the risk of having problematic pregnancies arises. But also around the same time we start feeling we are, in fact, getting old as our bodies stop cooperating and that last glass of champagne becomes one too many.

No matter how old I get, I still love celebrating my birthdays. It is one day I officially can claim to be all about "Moi!" And the more important they are the bigger the celebration would have to be.

So last summer, I packed up my bags and flew to Turkey to celebrate my 35th with my family, relatives and friends with a big party in our summerhouse. Raki and wine flowed. Everyone brought a dish or two and I've baked the very same cake my grandmother used to make for me every single one of my birthdays. Yes, I had my cake and I ate it too!

So yesterday, as I was thinking about which recipe to post this week I came across three lost capsicums in the fridge.

They made me think of the lovely little dish that Hatice Abla (the ever so lovely Dalyankoy local who comes up with the simplest and tastiest dishes) brought to my party.

And for a second, I was in Dalyankoy, cutting my cake. My mum was laughing, my dad was hugging me, everyone was clapping and laughing and I was happily kicking 35 in the butt!

So here is to many returns!


Roasted Capsicum with Garlic Yoghurt

Ingredients:

3 large red capsicums
2 tablespoons of olive oil
¾ cup natural yoghurt
1 small clove of garlic
Pinch of salt to taste

Here is how:

Wash and deseed the capsicum. Chop them into 4 cm long and 2 cm wide rectangles.

In a large frying pan, dry roast them stirring regularly until they are dry and change their color.

Add the olive oil and salt. Keep roasting until they are slightly browned and wilted. Turn off the heat and leave them to cool. 

In a bowl, mix the yoghurt and the grated garlic until combined.

Place the roasted capsicum in a flat plate and top up with the garlic yoghurt.

To serve, you can combine a tablespoon of olive oil sprinkled with some chilli flakes or ground paprika in a frying pan until the oil sizzles and drizzle on top of the garlic yoghurt.

Afiyet olsun!