Aleppo Pepper Oil

What is Aleppo pepper?

Aleppo pepper is named after the city of Aleppo in Syria, although with all the turmoil in the region, most of the Aleppo pepper available today comes from Turkey and a handful of other places.

Aleppo Pepper is most commonly used in Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Mediterranean cuisine. The dried, ground pepper is used to season meat or beans, or sprinkled over salads and vegetables. But, it can be used in place of any other variety of dried red pepper with abandon. I've been using it in pretty much every kind of food for years from typical American food to Mexican food, Italian food, and everything in between.

Aleppo pepper has a rich, complex, smoky flavor with a hint of fruitiness and a moderate heat level. Its flavor is similar to ancho chilies, but more oily and a bit salty.

The thing I love most about Aleppo Pepper is how much flavor you get for the amount of heat the pepper packs. Aleppo is about half as hot as crushed red chili flakes but packs double the flavor.

Aleppo pepper is difficult to find in most supermarkets in the US. I almost always order it. The brand I use the most is The Spice Way Aleppo Pepper.

Ways to use Aleppo pepper oil

You'll find a jar of Aleppo pepper oil on my countertop, right next to the stove, pretty much all the time. It's takes minutes to make, lasts for weeks, and adds instant flavor to everything.

• Drizzle it over fried, hard or soft boiled, or poached eggs. Or whisk it into eggs before scrambling.
• Drizzle it over any kind of meat or fish, roasted, baked, grilled, fried, whatever.
• Spoon it over any kind of vegetable.
• Add it to miso butter for a spicy kick that's absolutely fantastic spread over flank steak.
• Spoon it over any kind of soup. Try it on Spanish potato soup, curried roasted cauliflower soup, or this 30-minute rotisserie chicken soup.
• Mix it into mayo or use it to make aioli then slather it on sandwiches.
• Use it as a dip for crusty loaves of bread or homemade flour tortillas.
• Use it to flavor a pot of beans.

For one of our favorite snacks and appetizers, try this recipe for marinated feta in which Aleppo pepper, paprika, garlic, and lemon are cooked in oil and then used to flavor chunks of feta. It's seriously so good.

Aleppo pepper oil is one of the most important elements in this super easy recipe for red lentil soup with ham. It adds instant flavor to white beans and greens on toast and crispy corn tortilla quesadillas.

You can also use Aleppo pepper oil with crispy garlic in anything that calls for chili crisp.

Ingredients

• Aleppo pepper: You can occasionally find Aleppo pepper in specialty markets and grocery stores, but I almost always order the packet you see in the photo above on Amazon.
• Oil. I almost always use extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any kind of oil you like.
• Garlic: Garlic is optional but adds flavor and some crunch to Aleppo pepper oil.

Step-by-step photos and instructions

How to make Aleppo pepper oil without garlic:

Add oil and Aleppo pepper to a small skillet or saucepan and set it over medium heat.

When the oil is at a full simmer, turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool to room temperature in the pan then pour it into an airtight container.

How to make Aleppo pepper oil with crispy garlic:

Add chopped garlic and oil to a small skillet or saucepan and set it over medium heat. Cook the garlic until it is beginning to turn golden brown.

Add the Aleppo pepper and stir to mix. Let the pepper simmer in the oil for 10-20 seconds then turn off the heat. Allow the oil to cool to room temperature then pour it into an airtight container.

More recipes that use Aleppo pepper

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