Sucuklu Kuru Fasulye

Serves 8 (or 4 with leftovers for the next day) 

Ingredients

500g dried white beans₁ (previously soaked – see notes₁)

250g Turkish sucuk sausages (approx. 3), casing removed₂ (see notes₂), roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 red kapya biber or romano / red bell pepper, seeds and stalks removed, roughly chopped

1 green bell pepper or 2 çarliston peppers, seeds and stalks removed, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp tatlı biber salçası (sweet Turkish red pepper paste)

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp paprika

2 tbsp dried mint

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 can chopped tomatoes

1.7 ltrs cold water

2 bay leaves

Small bunch of parsley stalks, tied together

3 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves

1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

A pinch of Pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes), coarse black pepper and some more finely chopped fresh parsley to serve 

Method 

Heat up a large pan on a medium heat (do not add oil) and when the pan is hot, add the sucuk to the pan. Stir the sucuk pieces for 3-4 minutes until they crisp up a little and release their oils and juices. Remove the sucuk from the pan to a plate.

Pour the olive oil into the pan, and once hot, add the onions and peppers. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly. If they are crisping up too quickly, turn the heat down a little so that they soften and caramelise.

After 10-12 minutes add the garlic to the pan, stir for a minute or two, then add the cumin and paprika, tomato puree and tatlı biber salçası and stir well for a couple of minutes so that the pastes start to fry off a little.

Add the soaked and washed beans, sprinkle in the dried mint, and stir everything well before returning the sucuk pieces to the pan. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir, add the water, stir again, then pop in the bay leaves and parsley stalks, and bring everything up to the boil. Pop the lid half on, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for around 1 ½ hours until the beans are tender, checking every 20-30 minutes and giving everything a gentle stir₃

Once ready, take the pan off the heat, stir through the final tbsp of dried mint, the fresh parsley and lemon juice. Pop the lid back on and let the stew sit for at least half an hour (preferably an hour) before serving so that the flavours really come together.

Sprinkle over more fresh parsley and a sprinkle of pul biber and coarse black pepper when ready to serve.

Perfect with thick set yoghurt (süzme yogurt), rice, raw onion wedges, black olives, pickles (turşu) and a fresh salad. And bread for dipping into the juices with, of course.

Notes

₁ Soak the beans for no less than 12 hours in a large pan filled with cold water. The beans can soak at room temperature with the lid on (I do this overnight). After 12 hours, drain the water and wash the beans, ready to use.

₂ The casing used on sucuk isn’t edible so please always accordingly remove before consuming and cooking with.  

₃ All beans vary slightly in size and texture so you may need a little less time (at least 1hr - 1hr 15 mins unless using a pressure cooker, where you’ll probably only need around 30 minutes – you should be able to squish the beans easily with a fork and without any resistance once they’re fully cooked).