Description
Piyaz is a staple salad of Turkish cuisine — a simple but flavorful salad made with white beans, onions, parsley and tahini lemon dressing. It's an easy-to-make dish you’ll be proud to serve to company.
Adapted, minimally, from a recipe in Persiana, a cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour.
Ingredients
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- 1 small red onion, halved through the stem, each half cut into thin half moons
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed in a garlic press or finely minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 1/2 lemons)
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or more, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or more, to taste
- 2 15 1/2 -ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoons Turkish chili flakes such as Aleppo, Maras or Urfa
- The leaves from 1/2 a large bunch of parsley, roughly chopped (about 1 ounce or 28g parsley leaves)
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Instructions
- Soak the sliced onions in ice water for 10 minutes and then drain them in a colander. This washes away their sharp bite. Feel free to skip this step if you like raw onions at full strength.
- To make the dressing, put the garlic, lemon juice and tahini in a small bowl and mix well. Then add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk with a fork until smooth. If the dressing is too thick, whisk in cold water, one teaspoon at a time, until thin enough to dress a salad.
- Put the beans, onions, chili flakes and parsley into a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently so as not to break up the beans. Taste again and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- For best flavor, serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Tips on using tahini: Tahini often separates, so you'll need to stir it well before using. Sometimes the solids in a container of tahini are very hard so even stirring doesn't emulsify the oil and solids. In this case, transfer the contents of the container into a small blender and pulse it a few times to emulsify and then pour it back in its container. Or you can emulsify it in a bowl using an immersion blender.
- Turkish Chili Flakes: Aleppo and Maras are essentially the same — both having a kick of heat but also a delightful fruity flavor. Urfa is a bit milder with a lovely rich flavor similar to sun-dried tomatoes. Any of these chili flakes will work beautifully in this dish.
- Storage: This white bean salad holds up beautifully overnight and may be even better the next day. Cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to three days. Before serving, bring it to room temperature and give it a good stir, as some of the dressing will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Although it’s delicious the next day, if you’re serving it to company and want it to look its best, serve it the same day or within 24 hours. For a fresh, vibrant presentation, top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley just before serving.
- Serving Suggestions and Variations: Serve as a side dish, as part of a meze spread, or top with sliced hard-boiled eggs and serve as a hearty vegetarian main dish.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: no cook
- Category: Salad, Side Dish
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: Turkish