It started with kisir. I was planning a bulgur wheat salad — the kind of dish that looks simple until you read the ingredients list and hit something unfamiliar. Biber salçası. Turkish red pepper paste. Essential, apparently, and not something I had in the cupboard.

A quick search turned up jars of the stuff — Öncü, Tukas, various supermarket versions — but I was in rural Andalucía, not a Turkish supermarket. So I made it myself. And honestly? I haven't stopped making it since.

Biber salçası is one of those pastes that Turkish cooks treat the way Spanish cooks treat sofrito — a foundation, a starting point, something you reach for without thinking. Stirred into bulgur salads, spooned into shakshuka, rubbed onto meat before grilling. This is the hot version, acı biber salçası, made properly: roasted peppers and chillies, salted, reduced down until thick, glossy, and deeply flavoured.

If you want a milder paste — tatlı biber salçası — simply reduce or omit the chillies. Same method, gentler result.

Ingredients

(Makes approximately one 300ml jar)

6 large red peppers 3 red chillies, seeds removed (use 1–2 for a milder paste) 1 tsp sea salt 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Juice of half a lemon

Method

1. Heat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan. Place the peppers and chillies on a roasting tray and roast for 35–40 minutes until the skins are blistered and charred.
2. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly with cling film and leave to steam for 15 minutes. This loosens the skins considerably.
3. Peel the peppers and chillies, discarding the skins, seeds, and membranes. Don't rinse — you'll wash away flavour.
4. Place the flesh in a blender with the salt and lemon juice. Blitz to a smooth purée.
5. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium-low heat. Add the purée — it will spit, so stand back.
6. Cook, stirring regularly, for 25–35 minutes until the paste has reduced by roughly half, darkened in colour, and thickened to a dense, glossy consistency. It should hold its shape on a spoon.
7. Taste and adjust salt. Leave to cool completely before jarring.
8. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge. Use within 3–4 weeks, keeping the surface covered with a thin layer of olive oil.

A note on heat

This is the hot version — acı. If you want a milder paste closer to the sweet tatlı variety sold in jars, reduce the chillies to one, or leave them out entirely and increase the peppers. The method is identical.

Footnote

This recipe is part of the Nearly Series — cupboard classics made from scratch in a Spanish kitchen. Explore the full collection.

Wonky photos, proper condiments, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef.