Börülce Salatası: Turkish Black-Eyed Pea Salad (Recipe)
Börülce Salatası: Turkish Black-Eyed Pea Salad (Recipe)
Börülce salatası is a cold Turkish salad of boiled black-eyed peas tossed with scallions, parsley, dill, garlic, olive oil, and lemon. It belongs to the Aegean zeytinyağlı (olive oil) tradition, is served cool as a meze or side, and comes together in about an hour from dried peas, or in ten minutes from canned.
Key Takeaways
- Dried black-eyed peas simmer in 30 to 45 minutes after an overnight soak, and a 1 1/2 cup (300 g) batch yields about 4 cups cooked, enough for six servings.
- The dressing ratio is simple: about 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil to 3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice for every 4 cups of cooked peas.
- Dress the peas while they are still warm — they absorb oil and lemon far better than cold ones.
- Two 15-ounce (425 g) cans, drained and rinsed, replace the dried peas when you need the salad in ten minutes.
- The salad keeps 4 days in a covered container in the refrigerator, and the flavor is usually better on day two.
A bowl of börülce salatası on a meze table does not announce itself. It sits between the sliced tomatoes and the white cheese, pale and glossy, flecked with green. Then you taste it: soft, earthy peas, a sharp lemon edge, raw garlic in the background, and dill that tastes like summer on the Aegean coast.
This is the kind of dish a Turkish grandmother makes in a big pot on Sunday and nobody finishes by Monday. It asks for almost nothing — a pound or less of dried peas, a few handfuls of herbs, good olive oil.
The technique is the whole recipe.
This guide covers how to choose between dried and canned peas, how long to soak and cook them, the dressing ratio that works every time, and how to serve and store the salad. It also covers variations and fixes for the common mistakes. If you like olive oil dishes in general, the guide to zeytinyağlı cooking explains the whole tradition, and our complete guide to Turkish recipes shows where this salad fits in the wider repertoire.
What Is Börülce Salatası?
Börülce (black-eyed peas, also called cowpeas) is a small cream-colored legume with a dark eye, grown and eaten around the Aegean and Marmara coasts. Börülce salatası is its cold form: the peas are boiled until tender, dressed with olive oil and lemon, and tossed with scallions and fresh herbs.
It belongs to the zeytinyağlı (cooked in or dressed with olive oil) family, the large group of Turkish dishes meant to be eaten at room temperature or chilled. That is why it shows up so often on meze tables and in summer lunches, where nobody wants a hot plate.
Regional versions differ in small ways. Aegean cooks lean on dill and plenty of lemon. Some households add sumac or a pinch of pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes) for color. Others stir in a spoonful of tomato. The structure stays the same, and it sits alongside piyaz, the white bean salad, a cousin that uses vinegar, onion, and egg instead. Plenty of other cold dishes share the same table in our overview of Turkish summer meze and cold dishes.
Is it the same as the Southern US dish?
The peas are the same, but the dish is not. Turkish börülce salatası uses olive oil, lemon, and fresh herbs, with no pork, no long braise, and no hot serving. Think of it as a legume salad, not a stew.
Should You Use Dried or Canned Black-Eyed Peas?
Both work, and the better choice depends on how much time you have. Dried peas give you control: you decide how soft they get, and they keep their shape better in a salad. Canned peas give you speed, and the result is perfectly good if you rinse them well.
Dried peas
Black-eyed peas are one of the easier dried legumes to cook. They have thin skins and no need for a long boil. Soak them for 6 to 8 hours in plenty of water, then simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Without soaking, plan on 60 to 75 minutes, and check them often. Older peas that have sat in the pantry for years take longer and may never soften evenly, so buy from a source with good turnover. You can find dry peas and other pantry legumes in our dry goods collection.
Canned or jarred peas
Two 15-ounce (425 g) cans replace 1 1/2 cups (300 g) of dried peas. Drain them in a colander and rinse under cold water until the liquid runs clear. Taste a pea before you add salt, because canning liquid is often salted. The texture will be softer than home-cooked peas, so fold gently and do not over-stir.
Stock the pantry: Dry peas, beans, and lentils live in the legumes and dry goods collection, and ready-to-use peas are in the canned and jarred food collection.
How Do You Make Börülce Salatası at Home?
This recipe serves six as a meze or four as a side. Active time is about 15 minutes, and cooking takes 45 minutes once the peas are soaked. The soak is not included in the totals below.
What You Need
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) dried black-eyed peas, or two 15-ounce (425 g) cans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt for the cooking water, plus more to taste
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (25 g) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons (8 g) finely chopped fresh dill
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
How to Make It
- Rinse the dried peas, pick out any stones, and cover with water by 2 inches (5 cm). Soak for 6 to 8 hours or overnight, then drain. If you are using canned peas, skip to step 4.
- Put the soaked peas in a medium pot and cover with fresh water by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
- Skim any foam from the surface. Simmer partly covered for 30 to 45 minutes, adding the 1 teaspoon salt for the last 10 minutes, until the peas are tender but still hold their shape.
- Drain the peas well. Spread them on a tray for 5 minutes so surface steam escapes. For canned peas, drain and rinse under cold water.
- In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, grated garlic, and a pinch of salt until the dressing looks cloudy and combined.
- Add the still-warm peas to the dressing and toss gently with a spoon. Let them sit for 10 minutes so they absorb the oil and lemon.
- Fold in the scallions, parsley, dill, sumac, and pul biber. Taste, then add more salt or lemon as needed.
- Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve cold or cool, with a final drizzle of olive oil and extra parsley on top.
The two details that matter most are step 4 and step 6. Letting the peas steam dry keeps the dressing from getting watery, and dressing them warm lets the oil and lemon soak in rather than sit on the surface.
What Is the Right Dressing Ratio?
Start with about 1/3 cup (80 ml) of olive oil and 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of lemon juice for 4 cups of cooked peas. That is roughly 2 parts oil to 1 part lemon, a little more acidic than a standard vinaigrette, which suits legumes that taste mild on their own.
Two grated garlic cloves give a clear garlic note without taking over. If you prefer it softer, let the garlic sit in the lemon juice for 5 minutes before you add the oil. The acid mellows the raw edge.
Salt in layers. Some goes in the cooking water, some in the dressing, and the last adjustment comes after the salad has rested, because the peas absorb salt as they sit. Olive oil matters here since it is a main ingredient, not a garnish. Choose a fruity extra-virgin oil, and browse the olive oil collection if you want a Turkish one.
How Do You Serve and Store Börülce Salatası?
Serve it cold or cool, not ice-cold, since very cold temperatures dull the flavor of olive oil. Take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Pile it into a shallow bowl, scatter fresh parsley over the top, add a final drizzle of oil, and put lemon wedges on the side.
On a meze table, it pairs well with white cheese, olives, sliced cucumbers, and warm bread. As a main-course side, it sits comfortably beside grilled fish or chicken. It also packs well for a picnic since it holds up without refrigeration for a couple of hours.
How long does it keep?
Store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The flavor usually improves overnight as the peas absorb the dressing. Before serving leftovers, stir in a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a handful of fresh herbs to bring it back. Freezing is not recommended, because the herbs turn dark and the peas turn mushy.
What Variations Can You Try?
Once the base is right, börülce salatası is flexible. Each of these changes stays within how it is made across Turkey.
- With tomato: add 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced, just before serving, so they do not weep into the dressing.
- With pomegranate molasses: replace one tablespoon of lemon juice with pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi) for a darker, sweet-tart finish.
- With red onion: swap the scallions for thinly sliced red onion, rubbed with a pinch of salt and sumac for two minutes.
- With mint: replace the dill with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint for a brighter flavor.
- With olives: fold in a handful of pitted green olives for a salty edge.
If you enjoy this style of cooking, the same olive oil logic drives zeytinyağlı taze fasulye (braised green beans), which makes a good second dish for the same table.
Why Did Your Salad Turn Out Wrong?
Most problems trace back to the peas, not the dressing. Here is how to fix the common ones.
- Peas are mushy: they were overcooked. Start checking at 25 minutes, and pull them when a pea mashes easily between two fingers but still holds its shape in the pot.
- Peas are hard in the center: the peas were old or the water was too hard. Keep simmering, and add more hot water as needed. Do not add salt early if the skins stay tough.
- Salad is watery: the peas were not drained and steamed dry, or tomatoes were added too early.
- Salad tastes flat: it usually needs salt or lemon. Add a pinch of salt first, then lemon, a teaspoon at a time.
- Garlic is too sharp: reduce it to one clove or soak it in the lemon juice before dressing.
- Skins split: the water was boiling too hard. Keep the simmer gentle.
One more tip: do not use the soaking water for cooking. Drain it, rinse the peas, and start with fresh water for a cleaner flavor.
Finish the table: Pick up Turkish red pepper flakes and sumac from the spices collection, then look through the olive oil collection for a bottle fit for finishing a cold salad. For other legume dishes, our guide to Turkish lentils and legumes is a good next read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does börülce mean in English?
Börülce is the Turkish word for black-eyed peas, also called cowpeas. The small cream-colored legume with a dark spot is eaten across the Aegean and Marmara regions, mostly dried and cooked until tender, then dressed with olive oil and lemon for a cold salad. Fresh green pods are cooked too, but only in season.
Do you have to soak black-eyed peas for börülce salatası?
No, but soaking helps. Black-eyed peas cook faster than most beans, so unsoaked peas still become tender in about 60 to 75 minutes. A 6 to 8 hour soak cuts the simmer to 30 to 45 minutes and gives a more even texture, with fewer split skins in the finished salad.
Can I use canned black-eyed peas for this salad?
Yes. Use two 15-ounce (425 g) cans, drain them, and rinse well to remove the canning liquid. Canned peas are already soft, so skip the cooking and go straight to the dressing. Reduce the added salt at first, since canned peas are often salted, and adjust after tasting.
Is börülce salatası served hot or cold?
Cold, or cool at most. It is a zeytinyağlı dish, meaning a vegetable or legume cooked or dressed with olive oil and eaten at room temperature or chilled. Dress the peas while warm so they absorb the flavors, then refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
How long does börülce salatası last in the fridge?
Stored in a covered container, it keeps for about 4 days in the refrigerator. The peas keep absorbing dressing, so the salad tastes best on day two. Add fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon just before serving, and stir in a little extra olive oil if it looks dry.
What do you serve with börülce salatası?
Serve it as part of a meze spread with white cheese, olives, and warm bread, or as a side next to grilled fish, grilled chicken, or köfte. It also works as a light lunch on its own with a wedge of lemon and crusty bread for scooping.