Piyaz It’s what we call bean salad in Türkiye, but the term is actually Persian and means “onion.” Piyaz it is usually prepared with cannellini beans and mixed onion; seasoned with olive oil and vinegar; seasoned with pepper flakes; and decorated with cherry tomatoes, parsley and hard-boiled eggs. Depending on the region, onion it might have green onions or sumac. However, in Antalya, a beautiful city with magnificent beaches and rich in history on the Mediterranean coast, onion it is done differently than the rest of Türkiye. The difference is the tahini and garlic, which put me off on the first try because they were so different and incredibly rich compared to the piyaz I was used to. In Tekirdag, my hometown, and in Antalya onion it is usually served with grilled meatballs.
2 cups cooked cannellini beans (save the cooking water)
1 small onion, finely cut into julienne or crescent shapes (in Antalya they serve the onion cut into cubes, but I prefer julienne)
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 or two hard-boiled eggs, sliced or grated (I don’t like eating cold eggs, so I skip this one)
1 tomato, peeled if you like and cut into cubes
1/2 cup tahini
4 tablespoons of vinegar, red wine or apples
Juice of half a lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
– Soak the beans overnight. Bring them to the boil and then over medium heat cook them until they are soft but never mushy, they should keep well. Save the cooking water. OR, of course, use canned beans.
-In a bowl, first mix the tahini and vinegar until you obtain a soft consistency. It will become lumpy; that’s okay, it will loosen up. Continue mixing.
-Add the minced garlic, salt and garlic. If the sauce is thick, this is where we will add the cooking water from the beans, a couple of spoons at a time, slowly. Use a whisk to remove lumps. Add water until you get a smooth, but not very runny, tahini sauce. The tahini sauce should not be too runny or thick. Since different brands of tahini have different densities, I can’t tell you exactly how many tablespoons of water you need. Finally add the lemon juice and half the olive oil and blend again.
-First arrange the beans on a plate (I like the version with hot beans so I keep them in the pot until ready to serve them to keep them warm). In Türkiye onion it is usually served on oval, slightly deep serving plates so that there is enough sauce for dipping the crusty bread.
-Thinly slice the onion into julienne strips and mix it with 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Rinse and squeeze out excess water and place them on the beans.
-Add the diced cherry tomatoes on top.
-That’s where that hard-boiled egg will come from. You can add chopped or grated egg on top.
-Pour the tahini sauce evenly over the entire dish.
-Finally, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and serve with a slice of lemon or half a lemon on the side, because it doesn’t exist onion being “too acidic”. Piyaz it usually gets thrown at the table and you have to, you have to sop that juice up with the bread!
