Turkish Bean Recipe (Barbunya)

Meatless Monday's do not have to be boring nor lack essential proteins. A great meat substitute are beans.

I have a wonderful Turkish bean recipe called Barbunya, that is full of flavor and is a perfect side dish with grilled foods.

As a Turkish-American, I was raised on a lot of Turkish and Mediterranean foods. This Turkish Bean Recipe (Barbunya) is one of my favorites. It's full of flavor and it goes great with grilled foods such as shish kebabs, grilled chicken, grilled lamb or fish. It's also a very simple dish that uses a few ingredients. One of the main ingredients is the use of Cranberry Beans, which is very similar to Pinto Beans. As a matter of fact, if you are unable to find Cranberry Beans a great alternative is to use Pinto Beans which are much easier to find in local stores. If you have a Middle Eastern Specialty store in your area, you may be able to find Cranberry Beans. Either way, the dish will turn out great! To get the full flavor of this dish, I recommend preparing it the day before. The flavors seem to really be stronger the second day. This dish is eaten cold, so make sure it is chilled in the refrigerator before serving. Hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think!

Turkish Bean (Barbunya) Recipe

2 Cans Pinto Beans

1 Medium Carrot (Peeled and Thinly Sliced)

1 Large Cubanelle Pepper (Diced) You can also use jalapeños or other peppers

1 Small Onion (Diced)

2 Garlic Cloves (Diced)

1-2 tsp Tomato Paste

Salt

Parsley (Chopped)

Lemon Wedges for Serving

1/2 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation

Place the diced onion in a dutch oven with the extra virgin olive oil and sauté until onions are soft. Next, add the diced carrots, diced garlic and cubanelle peppers. Cook for 3 minutes. Once these ingredients are soft, add the salt and tomato paste, then cook for an additional minute while thoroughly mixing the paste. Add the beans and just enough water cover the beans. Once cooked (about 15 minutes or so) remove from the heat and allow it to cool. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator. Make sure to not over cook the beans as they are not supposed to be soft enough to mash. They should still have some firmness so monitor this while cooking. Once the Turkish Beans (Barbunya) is chilled, add the lemon wedges, chopped parsley and drizzle a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Then serve!

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