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Fasulye Ezmesi – A Tasty Turkish White Bean Dip Recipe

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Beans – both dried and fresh – are a much-used ingredient in Turkish cuisine and the dishes they produce, like this white bean dip, are right up there amongst our favourites.

A close up of a white ramekin bowl filled with white bean dip and topped with chilli flakes.
Turkish white bean dip – perfect for summer

When it comes to white beans (cannellini beans) Antalya style piyaz is a real regular in our house.

And, of course, kuru fasulye, a simple white bean stew, is amongst many Turkish people’s most loved staples.

For this recipe, we’re making fasulye ezmesi. This time, the beans are going to be mashed to make a tasty white bean dip – a great addition to the meze table.

Fasulye Ezmesi – A Turkish White Bean Dip Recipe

If you’re already a fan of Turkish cuisine, you might recognise the word ‘ezme’ from another famous recipe, Antep Ezmesi.

‘Ezme’ means crushed, mashed or smashed.

‘Fasulye ezmesi’ sounds a tad more adventurous and exotic than its English translation of ‘mashed beans,’ don’t you think?

White Bean Dip Or Fasulye Ezmesi
White bean dip or fasulye ezmesi is a great meze or snack food

Anyway, don’t let translations put you off. You can see how tempting this dish looks in the photo above.

Whether you’ve got friends round for dinner or you’re just curling up for a night in front of the TV, this white bean dip is super moreish – but the good news is, it’s also healthy!

White Bean Dip – The Healthy Nutrition (And Financial) Bits

Cannellini beans are hearty and filling – but they’re also a fantastic addition to your weight loss programme because of their relatively low calorie content.

80g of white beans also counts as one of your 5 A Day.

They regulate blood sugar levels, they’re high in fibre (good for the heart), they’re a good protein source and cannellini beans also have a high level of antioxidants.

Busy people and sports people can also benefit from eating white beans because their carbohydrate content gives a slow release of energy, keeping you going throughout the day.

And, happy days, if you’re on a budget, you can get all of these delicious benefits very cheaply.

Tinned or dried, time to stock up on white beans.

The other main ingredient in our white bean dip is olive oil – a high level of antioxidants and good for the heart.

(We used NHS Live Well as our source for nutritional information.)

How To Make White Bean Dip – Fasulye Ezmesi

White Beans
Give your white beans a good rinse

Lots of us have really busy lifestyles, these days, and sometimes, planning ahead and preparing a complicate meal is just not on the agenda.

So, we’re going the quick route.

Our white bean dip recipe will use tinned beans, taking a huge chunk off your prep time.

After you’ve rinsed their brine away and let them dry a little, you’re good to go.

Tinned white beans have usually been boiled until soft so if you haven’t got a blender, don’t worry. It’s quick and easy to do your mashed beans with a fork.

White Bean Dip Recipe
Your mashed beans with olive oil

Then we’re just going to add our olive oil and the rest of our ingredients and give it all good mix. It really is that easy.

Serving Your White Bean Dip

We did say it was easy. That’s it!

Spoon the bean purée into ramekin dishes, make a little well around the perimeter and add a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

And, of course, sprinkle the top with chilli flakes.

As with most Turkish meze dishes, this can be made up beforehand and then added to your impressive meze table when you have lots of people descending on your home for a food fest.

It will make a perfect addition to our meze for summer barbecues list.

Serving Of Fasulye Ezmesi
Serve your white bean dip with turşu and toasted bread or celery and carrot sticks

And, like we said, if you’re just curling up in front of the TV and need some nibbles, it’s a great healthy snack.

Serve up your white bean dip with warm lavaş bread, crusty, toasted bread or carrot and celery sticks.

And of course, it’s just not a Turkish table without a serving of turşu (Turkish pickled vegetables).

Here’s our Turkish white bean dip recipe and method.

A white ramekin dish filled with a white bean dip and topped with olive oil and chill flakes. Pickled vegetables are on the side.
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Fasulye Ezmesi – A Tasty Meze Of Cannellini Bean Mash

Fasulye Ezmesi is a healthy white bean dip recipe that is quick and easy to make. It’s a tasty addition to your meze table or great as a snack with celery or carrots to dip. This white bean mash also has lots of nutritional benefits.
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Author Turkey’s For Life
Course Meze
Cuisine Turkish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

For The White Bean Dip

  • 400 grams tin of cannellini beans (drained weight)
  • 1 large clove garlic (peeled & grated )
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon fresh dill (finely chopped)
  • salt & pepper (to taste)

To Garnish

  • 1 drizzle olive oil
  • chilli flakes (to taste (optional))

Instructions

  • Drain your cannellini beans in a colander and give them a good rinse to get rid of the brine.
  • Allow to drain for a few minutes and pat them dry with kitchen paper to remove excess liquid.
  • Add your beans to a large bowl to mash.
  • Mash the white beans with a fork until they are quite smooth.
  • Now add your garlic, lemon juice and olive oil and mix everything together thoroughly, mashing out any lumps as you go along.
  • Add your dill and a small pinch of salt and pepper, then mix.
  • Do a taste test and add more lemon juice if necessary.
  • Add your white bean dip to small ramekin dishes and smooth over the top before garnishing with a drizzle of olive oil and chilli flakes (if you like).

Notes

  • As with all of our recipes, calories per serving are a general guide.
  • This white bean dip is great as a meze or as a snack. Use carrot or celery sticks to dip into the mashed beans or use as a spread on lightly toasted bread.
  • Turşu (Turkish pickled vegetables) are a yummy accompaniment.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 142kcal
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Afiyet Olsun!

Fasulye Ezmesi (White Bean Dip) Afternotes

  • Tinned cannellini beans can be found easily in most food shops and supermarkets.
  • Other types of white beans can be used.
  • In Turkey, tins of white beans are called haşlanmış fasulye (boiled beans) and are often in 800g tins. Once the liquid is drained, you will be left with around 400g of beans.
  • If you are using dried white beans, steep them in water overnight and then boil for around 45-60 minutes, until soft. Allow to cool and then follow the recipe as it is.
  • In Turkey, the type of dried white beans you are looking for are dermason fasulye. These are a very common bean in Turkey.
  • Fasulye ezmesi is part of our Turkish vegetarian and vegan recipes.
  • Use our collection of recipes to experiment with Turkish cooking at home.

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adam

Sunday 13th of April 2014

Just found a tin of cannellini beans in the cupboard, may have a go at something similar :-)

Turkey's For Life

Monday 14th of April 2014

It's so quick and easy, Adam. Hope you like it. Think you will as you'll have had similar on your travels. :)

Turkey's For Life

Sunday 10th of February 2013

@ Engin: Merhaba. Thanks for your tips. Maybe a pressure cooker would be a good idea. We've not used any dried beans or chickpeas for a long time just because gas bottles are getting so expensive here and we get through them too quick when we're simmering beans for so long. ;)

Anonymous

Sunday 10th of February 2013

Merhaba TFL, I just had to writa and tell you that you really don't need to soak the dried brad beans before you cook them. They get nice and soft while the whole thing is boiling away. (Even quicker with the pressure cooker.)Engin

Turkey's For Life

Saturday 9th of February 2013

@ Jaz: It's yummy. Better with the real thing of course but these beans do the trick out of season. :)

Turkey's For Life

Saturday 9th of February 2013

@ Joy: Well to be honest, this recipe is similsr to Barry's hummus recipe - without the tahin and the chickpeas of course. :)

@ BacktoBodrum: Yeah, we used to use dried beans all the time but gas bottles are getting so expensive, we've decided it's cheaper to buy a tin of beans that someone has already boiled for us. :) Dried beans are a treat, these days.

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