Yellow Pepper Favosalata with Corn and Pepper Relish

Behold the Great Yellow Pepper — the strongest pepper in all the land, able to crush a phonebook with only her bodyweight! Our favosalata recipe today is for seasonal sunny pepper fans everywhere. So, what is favosalata you ask? First, it’s NOT hummus, although both hummus and favosalata are prepared from legumes and use lemon and olive oil. Second, there are many types of ‘salatas’, but favosalata is typically prepared from yellow split peas.

Happy Belly’s favosalata features roasted yellow peppers, pureed with roasted garlic and yellow split peas, and is topped with summer corn, a yellow pepper relish, and a drizzle of olive oil. Yellow split peas are high in protein and fiber. I love to serve this dip with carrot and celery sticks, daikon radish wedges, and crusty bread. If you want to go the extra mile, you may try baking or buying Greek Horiatiko Psomi, aka village bread.

Yellow Pepper Favosalata with Corn and Pepper Relish

Cook the yellow split peas – Wash and drain the yellow split peas. Place in a large saucepan and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Add the celery and onion. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Remove the celery and onion and drain in a fine mesh colander, pressing down to remove as much moisture as possible.

Make the corn and pepper relish – Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Season with some salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.

Make the favosalata – In a medium skillet, add the chopped yellow pepper and whole garlic cloves. Add a ¼ cup of water, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until tender. Add the cooked yellow split peas, yellow pepper, garlic, scallions, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, zest and salt, and pepper. Purée until very smooth, 4-5 minutes.

Place in a shallow serving bowl and garnish with sumac, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with toasted pita and vegetable chips, such as carrots and radishes 

serves 6-8

YELLOW SPLIT PEAS

  • 1 cup of split yellow peas
  • 1 stalk celery
  • half an onion, peeled

CORN AND PEPPER RELISH 

  • 1 tbsp shallot, minced
  • 1 ear of very young corn, cut from the cob
  • ½ cup of diced yellow pepper
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1 small serrano chili, minced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
  • ¼ tsp sumac

FAVOSALATA

  • 1 large yellow pepper, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 2 tbsp chopped scallions, white parts only, about 2-3 scallions
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • the zest and juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

GARNISH

  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • a drizzle of olive oil