Earlier this week, I mentioned my trip to Istanbul and my newfound appreciation for Turkish food. As someone who loves spice, my favorite acquisition from my trip was a large bag of Turkish red pepper. An immensely flavorful twist on the crushed red pepper you may be more familiar with (and can use to substitute here), I’ve been taking any excuse to use it. Turkish red pepper is great with eggs or to add a little extra kick to dips or stews. But I’ve done something a little more unusual here. When I got back in town, strawberries were coming in season, tempting me at every turn, and I was determined to make homemade fruit roll-ups (often called “fruit leather”). As the strawberries were cooking down, I couldn’t resist throwing in a hefty portion of my new favorite spice, and the result was fantastic. Turkish red pepper isn’t too spicy, so there’s just a mild hint of spiciness at the end, a great complement to the perfect sweetness of in-season strawberries. I actually made a double batch of this recipe and left half as a sauce – amazing for stirring into yogurt, pouring over ice cream, or even adding a hint of sweetness to a salad dressing.



Spicy Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

Yield: 12 1″x17″ fruit roll-ups

Ingredients:

1 quart strawberries, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp granulated sugar *

* 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp Turkish red pepper (optional)

(optional) pinch kosher salt

*If your strawberries are extra sweet, you may be able to omit this.

Method:

