SAPHIRE SALAD-SEA BEANS(DENIZ BÖRÜLCESİ)

Serve: 4

Level : Medium

Time: 30 minutes

SAPHIRE SALAD-SEA BEANS(DENIZ BÖRÜLCESİ)

Here is the recipe for Samphire Salad / Sea Beans-Deniz Börülcesi Salatası. This is a refreshing dish, popular especially in the Aegean Region. Samphire comes into season in Turkey during May and June. The preparation of the samphire has a little hard to prepare, It is a salty vegetable, so make sure to be miser when adding salt, if any. With this recipe you will see that when boiled and peeled as described here it is a tasty, refreshing salad,and consumed with fish. Saphire salad are also used in cuisines of other countries, such as cuisines of England, France, Holland and Japan.

Marsh samphire (salicornia europea), traditionally known as picklegrass or glassgrass, is a rather unusual species and grows in salt water. It is one of the very few plants that requires a lot of salt and lots of water to grow. Therefore, it prefers salt marshes, beaches and other low-lying places near the sea. This feature results in a succulent, juicy herb with a rich and complex flavor. Its cousin, the rock samphire, is also eaten, but is much less common.

Saphire /Sea Beans contains a rich and unusual array of rare minerals, primarily various salts, iodine and calcium. Its high mineral content makes it very nutritious – similar in health properties to seaweed.

This surprisingly delicious salad herb (often called ‘sea asparagus’ on French or Japanese menus nowadays) not only gives you a fast-prepared and stunning Turkish dining experience, it also gives you a long and ancient culinary tradition and taste. I hope you try and enjoy it because samphire contains several rare minerals and plenty of calcium.

if you want to more information about the Saphire-Sea Beans please follow the wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicornia_europaea

INGREDIENTS:

1-) 500g swamp samphire , washed (available in spring in most grocery stores: called “sea asparagus” or alternatively “sea beans- “Deniz Borulcesi” in Turkish.

2-) 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons vinegar.

3-) 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

4-) 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil,

5-) black pepper and red pepper to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Saphire Salad Preparation:

1- Pour about 3 liters of water into a large pot and put it on high heat. Do not add salt! While the water is warming, wash the samphire under cold running water.

2-After the water boils, reduce the temperature a little, add the samphire and for about 5-6 minutes until it softens, but not too much. Then remove from water and soak in cold water, leave to cool.

3-Meanwhile, mix the garlic with the lemon juice and olive oil. When the samphire is cold or warm, pull the main stem near the root and gently press with your hand and scrape it off the main stem and place in a salad bowl. Clean the remain Saphire branch in the same way as you did before and place it on the serving plate, and finally, pour the lemon-garlic, olive oil, vinegar and sauce on it.

In addition, Saphire Salad can also be sauced with strained Turkish yogurt or Greek yogurt, the salad consumes with grilled fish or other seafood, and served as a starter or side dish salad. Enjoy it! 🙂

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