#5 - Kuru Fasulye (Dried Beans)
Yep, dried beans made it into the top 5. But assume that's a statement about Turkish cuisine. The Turks, much like the Italians, are able to take simple ingredients and pull out incredible flavors.
While many Turkish vegetable dishes are served at room temperature, these are always served piping hot. They're hearty, succulent, and slightly salty — the epitome of home cookin'. (And just the thing to stomp out the lingering congestion from the cold I'm recovering from!)
I've found the beans are especially nice paired with rice pilaf — which conveniently also creates a complete protein. High five!
Here's the recipe I tried, translated from here:
Ingredients
Directions
Afiyet olsun!
(May it be good for you!)
While many Turkish vegetable dishes are served at room temperature, these are always served piping hot. They're hearty, succulent, and slightly salty — the epitome of home cookin'. (And just the thing to stomp out the lingering congestion from the cold I'm recovering from!)
I've found the beans are especially nice paired with rice pilaf — which conveniently also creates a complete protein. High five!
Here's the recipe I tried, translated from here:
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried beans,
- 1 onion,
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste,
- 1 teaspoon chili powder,
- 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil,
- salt, to taste
- water
Directions
- Wash dried beans in hot water, and soak overnight.
(I used canned beans, but next time I'll plan ahead and use dried.) - Chop the onion and sauté it in oil.
- Add the tomato paste and cook until the smell comes out.
(That's a word for word translation. If anyone can tell me what this means, please do! I just stirred it around for a few minutes.) - Stir in the chili powder.
- Drain the beans (or wash and drain canned beans), and add to the pot.
- On low heat, add enough water to cover and steam cook for 20 minutes. For canned beans, just cook them long enough to get hot. You don't want them to get too mushy.
- Add more water and cook until beans are tender.
(The translations got a bit murky here, but basically you just simmer until the beans are cook, adding more water if you need it. There should be just enough water to cover the top of the beans...it's not quite soup.) - Stir in salt 5 minutes before removing from heat. Canned beans may not need more salt.
Afiyet olsun!
(May it be good for you!)