Piyaz (Turkish White Bean Salad)
Creamy white beans tossed with onion, tomato, parsley and a tangy tahini dressing — Antalya's famous piyaz is the salad that steals the show at every kebab table.
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Ingredients
250g dried white beans, soaked overnight (or 2 x 400g tins, drained)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp sumac
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp grape vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
2 eggs, hard-boiled and quartered (optional, Antalya style)
a handful of black olives, to garnish
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- 1
Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water and simmer for 40-45 minutes until tender but not mushy, then drain (skip this step if using tinned beans — just rinse and drain them).
- 2
Toss the sliced onion with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the sumac, rubbing gently with your hands for a minute to soften it.
- 3
Whisk the tahini with the vinegar, lemon juice, crushed garlic and 3-4 tablespoons of warm water until you have a smooth, pourable dressing, then whisk in the olive oil and season with salt.
- 4
In a large bowl, combine the warm beans, sumac onions, tomato wedges and most of the parsley.
- 5
Pour over the tahini dressing and toss gently so the beans stay whole.
- 6
Transfer to a serving plate, top with the boiled egg quarters and olives, and scatter with the remaining parsley and red pepper flakes.
- 7
Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the beans soak up the dressing — serve with grilled köfte or warm bread.
Piyaz is proof that Turkish cooking can turn a handful of pantry staples into something memorable. At its heart it is simply boiled white beans, sliced onion, tomato and plenty of parsley, but in Antalya — where piyaz is practically a religion — the dressing is enriched with tahini, vinegar and lemon, turning it into a creamy, garlicky salad that stands as a meal on its own.
The onions matter more than you might think. Rubbing the sliced onion with salt and a generous pinch of sumac softens its bite and gives the salad its signature tang. If you are short on time, two drained tins of cooked white beans work perfectly; just rinse them well so the dressing can cling properly.
Serve piyaz slightly warm or at room temperature with grilled köfte, or make it the centrepiece of a meze spread with olives and warm bread. Every ingredient here, from the beans to the tahini, is easy to find at Turkish Online Market, so an authentic Antalya piyaz is never more than a delivery away.
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