Turkish cuisine · Breakfast & Eggs

Zeytin Ezmesi (Olive Paste)

Black olives crushed with olive oil, garlic, walnuts and pomegranate molasses into a coarse paste.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 300 g black olives
• 60 g walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 flatbread

Instructions

1. Pit the olives, rinse briefly in cold water and drain well so the paste doesn't turn overly salty and watery later.
2. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 min. until fragrant, then let cool and chop coarsely.
3. Peel the garlic and crush it into a fine paste in a mortar with a pinch of salt.
4. Coarsely chop the olives with a wide knife and pound them in a mortar or mash in a bowl with a potato masher until a coarse, still chunky mixture forms – not a smooth purée.
5. Work in the garlic paste, walnuts, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, pul biber and thyme and let steep at room temperature for 15 min.
6. Finely chop the parsley, fold in, spread the paste onto a shallow dish and serve drizzled with a little olive oil alongside fresh flatbread.