Fasolada

Greek White Bean Soup

This is the dish Greeks call their national one, and it could hardly be plainer: white beans, a few vegetables, tomato and water. What turns it from frugal to luxurious is the olive oil, which goes in by the glassful and gives the broth its body.

The Greek magazine recipe read here, which calls fasolada the national dish, boils 500 g of soaked beans for half an hour, drains them, and then simmers them in fresh water with onion, leek, carrot, celery, red pepper, a little chilli, tomato concentrate and a full measure of olive oil.

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 500 g dried white beans (cannellini or haricot), soaked overnight
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 2 celery sticks with leaves, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 small dried chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 200 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Fine sea salt and black pepper
  • Bread, olives and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Parboil the beans Drain the soaked beans, put them in a large saucepan and cover well with cold water. Bring to the boil and boil for 30 minutes, skimming off the foam. Drain and discard the water.
  2. Simmer Return the beans to the pan with the onion, leek, carrots, celery, pepper and chilli. Add about 1.5 litres of fresh water, enough to cover by 3 cm. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. Add tomato and oil Stir in the tomato purée and the olive oil. Simmer, partly covered, for a further 30 to 45 minutes, until the beans are completely soft and the broth has thickened. Add a little hot water if it becomes too thick.
  4. Season and serve Season with salt and pepper only now, as salt added early can keep the beans hard. Rest for 10 minutes and serve with bread, olives and a squeeze of lemon.

Food safety

Dried beans must be soaked and then boiled hard before simmering. Do not cook them from dry in a slow cooker.

Old beans take much longer. If they are still firm, keep simmering.

The soup thickens as it stands and is good the next day.

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