It’s Friday night in Israel and I’ve just returned from Kabbalat Shabbat, ravenously hungry. After kiddush and hamotzi dinner appears. First of all is the mezze: small dishes of hummus and tehina, pickled cucumbers and grilled aubergines, but best of all the peppers. Mezze peppers have to be one of my favourite Israeli foods, and I miss it so much in  England that I worked out how to make it myself! A special thank you goes to fellow Times of Israel blogger – Lori Silberman Brauner – for testing this recipe before it was published.

Ingredients 

• Four large sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange are best)
• One crushed garlic clove
• Half a tin of chopped tomatoes
• Seasonings (paprika, cumin, turmeric, zaatar and mixed dried herbs)
• Barbecue sauce or harissa (optional)
• Olive oil

Method

1. Slice the peppers into fine strips, ensuring that you totally de-seeded them
2. Fry the peppers strips in a little olive oil with the crushed garlic clove (and barbecue sauce or harissa if they are being used) until soft (for about 10-15 minutes)
3. Pour the tomatoes into the frying pan with the seasonings and simmer for up to 15 minutes, or until the peppers resemble a thick sauce
4. Once the peppers have finished cooking, allow them to cool to room temperature before serving