A Note on Aleppo Pepper and Other Peppers

I am obsessed with Aleppo pepper. I put it on everything -- yogurt, soup, pizza, pasta, almost anything that comes out of my kitchen. Its dark, earthy tones make it a fantastic addition to almost any dish -- it adds a bit of kick and complexity to Turkish cuisine.

Of course, Aleppo pepper is from Aleppo, Syria, not from Turkey. I spent a month in Syria this summer and finally made it to Aleppo -- I wandered around the various souks staring at the pepper collections. It was a historic occasion in my cooking career -- I finally got up the nerve to approach one of the vendors and asked him in my halting Arabic which one of his 17 peppers was a traditional Aleppo pepper -- the man looked at me puzzled and replied, "Aleppo pepper? This is Aleppo. It's all Aleppo pepper." Right. I bought half a kilo laughing at my inanity. If you want to use a traditional Turkish pepper instead, try Maraş Pepper. It has about the same taste and complexity. Or if you want something smokier, Urfa pepper is an excellent alternative and is a deep purple (see the photo on the right). If you can't find any of the above, you can substitute 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper for about 1 tbsp. of Aleppo pepper. It won't have the same smoky quality but will at least give you a bit of kick. One website recommends four parts paprika to one part cayenne as a good substitute. Crushed red pepper flakes are a substitute of last resort.