BLESSED BEANS

HUMMUS

While hummus is now a household term all over the world, I can pretty much guarantee once you try it in the Turkish preparation, you will never be satisfied with it in its regular form again. This is because in Turkey this dip, which is made from ground chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and olive oil and with or without cumin, is served in clay dishes and topped with sizzling strips of pastırma or pine nuts after being heated up in the oven.

BARBUNYA PİLAKİ

The most prevalent meze centered on beans is “barbunya pilaki.” Barbunya refers to the borlotti bean, aka as the cranberry bean, and “pilaki” is a term for the cooking style in which beans or fish are prepared with onions, garlic, tomatoes, carrots and parsley and cooked in olive oil.

TAZE FASULYE

A similar variation of pilaki is “taze fasulye,” which is long green beans that are cooked with onions and tomatoes in olive oil. “Börülce” is yet another variation, in this case, centered on whole or shelled black-eyed peas.

BAKLA OR FAVA

The beloved broad bean takes a different turn in Turkey in which the beans are either shelled or left in their green casing and prepared with the distinct flavor combination of sautéed onions, ample dill weed, olive oil and lemon juice, to become the meze referred to as “zeytinyağlı bakla” or the whole mixture can be blended together into a thick paste, which can be served in slices when cold or as a hot puree and is referred to as “fava.”