Barbunya salatası is a vibrant Turkish red kidney bean salad that's packed full of Mediterranean flavours. Pronounced 'bar-boon-yah sah-lah-tah-suh', the delicate and slightly nutty red kidney beans are perfectly balanced by the sweet and tender carrots. The garlic, lemon and parsley infused dressing is simple, but adds a distinct fresh and earthy aroma that lifts the dish for a bright and zesty salad.
It is great served with fırın makarna or patates köftesi but can be eaten by itself as a light lunch or as part of a meze too. Barbunya salatası is best served either at room temperature or chilled, rather than warm. As a tip, you can place the tinned beans in the fridge ahead of making the salad for quicker preparation.
Although tinned pre-cooked red kidney beans are used for this recipe for speed and ease, you can boil dried red kidney beans for a richer flavour. 500 dried red kidney beans cooked according to the pack instructions will make roughly the same amount as the tinned beans. Also, using a pressure cooker makes boiling the beans quicker.
The ingredients listed for the dressing are meant to serve as a guide. You can adjust the quantities of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic according to your preference. Using a high quality extra virgin olive oil is recommended - we use Cypriot extra virgin olive oil for its peppery flavour.
Serves 4 to 6 as a side | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes | Additional time needed to chill the beans and cool the carrots
Ingredients
Beans | |
4x 400g (240g net weight) tins of pre-cooked red kidney beans in water | 250g carrots, peeled and washed |
40g parsley, chopped | |
Dressing | |
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped | 100-150ml lemon juice, or as desired |
150-200ml extra virgin olive oil, or as desired | 1 tsp salt, or as desired |
Hob heat scale
Method
Cut the carrots into quarters lengthwise and then slice these quarters into 0.5cm thick pieces.
Add the carrot pieces to a saucepan and enough hot water to cover by 2cm. Place on a high heat and boil for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked - they should be firm but tender in the centre. Drain off the water and leave to cool completely.
Wash the pre-chilled beans well to remove the tinned juices and strain, before placing in a large bowl with the carrots and chopped parsley.
In a separate bowl, mix the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt together to create a dressing. Pour the dressing over the beans, carrots and parsley and gently mix to evenly coat them, by lifting the beans and dressing over from the bottom with a spoon . You can adjust the quantities of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt to taste.
Serve at room temperature or cold from the fridge with some grilled meat or as a side to anything else. The dish is also perfect as a light lunch in the summer with some fresh bread and olive oil to dip into. Add a sprinkle of dried oregano, cracked black pepper and salt to the olive oil for an earthy dip.