Turkish walnut tarator
Vegetarian
Tarator
Walnuts pounded with garlic and bread soaked in water, then whipped with olive oil and lemon into a thick, pale, garlicky sauce. Served in Türkiye with fried mussels, fried calamari and fish, and with cold boiled vegetables.
Turkish walnut tarator is a Turkish sauce from Türkiye, ready in about 30 minutes and made with walnuts and white bread. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 162
Method
Step 1
Soak the torn bread in about 100 ml cold water for 2 minutes, until soft right through, then squeeze it firmly in your fist so it is damp but not dripping. Keep the squeezed water.
Step 2
Pound the garlic (opens in a new tab) with the salt in a mortar to a smooth paste.
Step 3
Add the walnuts (opens in a new tab) and pound (or pulse in a food processor (opens in a new tab) in 1-second bursts) until they are fine crumbs beginning to turn oily, with no pieces bigger than a lentil. Do not run the processor continuously, or the walnuts turn into a greasy butter.
Step 4
Add the squeezed bread and the garlic (opens in a new tab) paste and work them in until the mixture is a thick, even paste. Then add the olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a thin stream, alternating with the lemon juice (opens in a new tab), pounding or processing continuously until the sauce is pale, thick and glossy, like a loose mayonnaise.
Step 5
Thin with the reserved water a tablespoon at a time: for dipping fried mussels or calamari it should be thick enough to cling to a spoon; to spoon over vegetables or fish it should be pourable like double cream. Taste for salt and lemon and rest 15 minutes for the garlic (opens in a new tab) to settle.
About this dish
- Origin
- Türkiye · Commonly attributedA walnut-bread-garlic sauce of Ottoman and Aegean cooking; related sauces include Greek skordalia and Levantine taratur (which is tahini-based). Not to be confused with Bulgarian tarator, a cold cucumber soup. Proportions follow common Turkish home and meyhane recipes.More food from Türkiye
- Dish
- Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Dips & spreads
- Cooking method
- No-cook, Blended
- Taste
- nutty, garlicky, creamy, tangy
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · Keto-style · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Keto-style · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Budget-friendly
- Cook more with
- Walnuts · White bread · Garlic · Lemon juice
- Techniques
- Wet grinding · Emulsification
Allergens
- May contain: Milkfrom white bread
- May contain: Eggsfrom white bread
- Contains: Tree nutsfrom walnuts
- Contains: Wheatfrom white bread
- Contains: Glutenfrom white bread
- May contain: Soyfrom white bread
- May contain: Sesamefrom white bread
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
162 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 41 g · recipe makes 8
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 6%
- Carbohydrate 13%
- Fat 81%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 162 kcal | 392 kcal |
| Protein | 2.6 g | 6.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 5.6 g | 13.5 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 4.5 g | 10.9 g |
| Sugars | 0.8 g | 1.9 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 1 g | 2.5 g |
| Fat | 15.2 g | 36.9 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.8 g | 4.3 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 177 mg | 429 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.4 g | 1.1 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 73 mg
- Calcium
- 26 mg
- Iron
- 0.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 22 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 24 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Fresh, pale walnuts make a sweet sauce; old walnuts are bitter and rancid. Taste one first.
- Fish stock instead of water makes the sauce richer for seafood.
Common mistakes
- Over-processing the walnuts into an oily paste that splits when the lemon goes in.
- Leaving the bread wet, which makes the sauce sloppy and bland.
Serve with
- The classic dip for midye tava (beer-battered fried mussels) and kalamar tava (fried calamari).
- Spooned over fried or grilled fish, or over boiled cauliflower, beetroot or green beans.
Food safety
- Contains tree nuts; label it clearly on a shared table.
Storage
- Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days. It thickens when cold; stir in a little water before serving.
Variations
- Almond or hazelnut tarator: Blanched almonds or hazelnuts replace some or all of the walnuts, especially in the Black Sea region.
- Levantine taratur (Lebanon): In Lebanon and Syria the name means tahini sauce with lemon and garlic, served with fish; see the separate tahini sauce recipe.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Goes with
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- White bread, 2 slices day-old bread, crusts removed, torn50 g
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed30 ml · 31 g
Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.
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