Turkish bean salad, also known as Piyaz in Turkish, is a typical Turkish side dish/salad made with white beans, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, and a simple Turkish salad dressing. This quick Mediterranean white bean salad is a terrific meal to serve alongside all of your poultry, beef, and vegetarian main dishes because it's ready in 10 minutes.
This sweet, fragrant Turkish bean salad calls for three times the amount of olive oil in the traditional recipe. Borlotti beans or red beans would be used in Turkey; I prefer pink beans, which can be found in most stores. The salad is based on a dish by Clifford Wright, a cookbook author.
Turkish Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound pink beans, borlotti beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans, cleaned, picked over, and soaked in 2 quarts water for at least four hours
- 1 yellow onion, halved along the equator
- 2 lightly crushed garlic cloves, the remainder coarsely chopped or sliced
- 1 leaf of bay
- season with salt to taste
- a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion, cut lengthwise in half, then across the grain in thin slices
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 lb. tomatoes
- 1 fresh dill bunch, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional), plus 2 lemon wedges for serving.
Directions
- Combine the beans, soaking water, two crushed garlic cloves, halved yellow onion, and bay leaf in a mixing bowl. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for an hour. Season with salt to taste, and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft but not falling apart, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat. Drain the beans carefully through a colander or strainer set over a basin, discarding the onion halves, garlic cloves, and bay leaf.
- Cut the tomatoes in half across the equator in the meantime. Place a strainer over a bowl and squeeze the tomatoes' seeds into the strainer. To extract the juice, rub the gelatinous seed sacs on the strainer and discard the seeds. Using the big holes, grate the tomatoes.
- In a big, heavy pan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until very soft but not browned. Add a good amount of salt and the garlic, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Combine the sugar, half of the tomatoes, and half of the herbs in a mixing bowl. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced to a fragrant sauce.
- Combine the beans, ½ cup broth, and the remaining tomatoes in a mixing bowl. Cover and continue to cook for another 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Take the pan off the heat and add the remaining herbs and olive oil.
Variation: You can use canned beans for this dish. You will need 5 cups beans (three cans). Drain them and rinse well, and substitute water for the bean broth.There is no need to cook canned beans.
Yield: Serves eight.
Advance preparation: This will keep for four or five days in the refrigerator.
Is it still cold in your neck of the woods? You don't want to eat a salad, do you? Warm your spirit with our Cannellini bean soup or bean stew with beef! Make a note of this piyaz recipe and try it as soon as spring arrives!
Try out this turkish bean salad recipe and let us know in the comments below, if you have any questions about the recipe.
Turkish Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound pink beans borlotti beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans or pintos, washed, picked over, and soaked for at least four hours in 2 quarts water
- 1 yellow onion cut in half across the equator
- 8 garlic cloves 2 lightly crushed, the rest coarsely chopped or sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion cut in half lengthwise, then in thin slices across the grain
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pound tomatoes
- 1 bunch fresh dill stemmed and coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
- Leaves from 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice optional, plus 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the beans and their soaking water with the two crushed garlic cloves, the halved yellow onion and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Add salt to taste, and continue to simmer until tender but intact, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the onion halves, garlic cloves and bay leaf, and carefully drain the beans through a colander or strainer set over a bowl.
- Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half across the equator. Set a strainer over a bowl, and squeeze out the seeds from the tomatoes into the strainer. Rub the gelatinous seed sacs against the strainer to extract the juice, and discard the seeds. Grate the tomatoes against the large holes of a box grater set in a wide bowl, and discard the skins. Add the juice from the strained seeds to the grated tomatoes, and stir together.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until very soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic, and continue to cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the sugar, half the tomatoes and half the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has cooked down to a fragrant sauce, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans, ½ cup of broth and the remaining tomatoes. Cover and simmer for another 25 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining herbs and olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cool. Stir in the lemon juice if desired, and serve with lemon wedges. If the beans seem dry, add more of the bean broth to taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Piyaaz?
Turkish bean salad, also known as Piyaz in Turkish, is a typical Turkish side dish/salad made with white beans, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, and a simple Turkish salad dressing.
What goes in a Turkish salad?
1. 1 pound pink beans, borlotti beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans, cleaned, picked over, and soaked in 2 quarts water for at least four hours.
2. 1 yellow onion cut in half across the equator
3. 8 garlic cloves 2 lightly crushed, the rest coarsely chopped or sliced
4. 1 bay leafSalt to taste¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
5. 1 large red onion cut in half lengthwise, then in thin slices across the grain
6. 1 teaspoon sugar
7. 1 pound tomatoes
8. 1 bunch fresh dill stemmed and coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
9. Leaves from 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley finely chopped (about 1 cup)
10. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice optional, plus 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for serving.
Do you have to cook canned kidney beans?
Drain them and rinse well, and substitute water for the bean broth.There is no need to cook canned beans.
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