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Turkish Food – Fasulye – White Beans Recipe

A delicious Turkish dish that can easily be converted to vegetarian, fasulye is a staple in Turkish households.  Follow this recipe with any white bean, White Northern beans might be the closest to Turkish beans in the States.

Turkish white beans.
Fasulye served with pilav and bulgur.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons oil (sunflower, if possible)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 small onion – diced

4 medium cloves garlic – diced

1/2 can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

2 Tablespoons of red pepper paste

beans, already moistened or use canned as well

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

Optional:  Sausage*, skinned and sliced (one or two links)

Directions:

In large pot, heat oil and butter.  Saute onions and garlic, until onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes, tomato and pepper paste, stir.  Add beans, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Cover beans with water.  Bring to boil; reduce to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

The last ten minutes add the sausage.  Turn off heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

*Sausage in Turkey is called sucuk.  It is a bit spicy.  Any link beef sausage will do.

I want to thank my good friend, Füsün, for this recipe and all my Turkish cooking lessons.  She has contributed a few other recipes on this site to include:  bulgur and pilav.  Check them out, and let me know what you like.

Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.