Grated Radish Salad with Tahini Sauce; Tahinli Turp Salatasi

How to make grated radish salad with tahini sauce; Tahinli turp salatasi?

Juicy, crunchy red radishes – turp, as we call in Turkey- add a lovely, punchy colour and a delightful peppery taste to dips and salads. In southern Turkey, in Adana region as well as in Antakya, we make a delicious, refreshing radish salad with a simple tahini sauce. We serve this Tahinli Turp Salatasi as part of a mezze spread, especially to accompany Oruk or Icli Kofte, our version of the Middle Eastern Kibbeh. Hope you enjoy it, Afiyet Olsun.

Ingredients

• 200 gr / 7 oz. red radishes, washed and pat dried
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed with salt and finely chopped
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• 15 ml/ 1 tbsp. tahini, stirred
• 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 5 ml/ 1 tsp. cumin
• 5 ml/ 1 tsp. red pepper flakes or chili flakes
• Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Flat leaf parsley to decorate

Instructions

1. Clean and pat dry the radishes. Trim off the stem end and tip, keep the skin.
   Grate the radishes and place in a bowl. Sprinkle some salt over and let the moisture come out, for 5 minutes.
2. Using an absorbent kitchen paper towel or clean tea towel, squeeze the grated radishes to get rid of the excess moisture. Later, place them in a serving bowl.
3. To make the tahini sauce; combine the tahini, chopped garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil in a small container and mix well. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste.
4. Pour in this sauce over the grated radishes and combine well.
5. Sprinkle the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the radish salad with tahini and decorate with flat leaf parsley.

   Afiyet Olsun.

Notes

Make sure to give tahini a good stir before using it as it tends to separate.