Fasolada also known as Fasolatha or Fasoulada is a delicious, vegan white bean soup from Greece. This soup is considered the National dish of Greece.
I am back with another Greek recipe and now you would have understood that I am in love with this cuisine.
Fasolada is a traditional Greek soup that is made with white beans, tomatoes, and vegetables like carrot and celery. A lot of people consider it the National food of the Greeks.
Like a lot of other Greek recipes, this is also a very simple, easy to make recipe which despite its subtle flavors tastes amazing.
History of Fasolada
This is an Ancient Greek recipe, which was served as a sacrifice to the Greek God Apollo at the Pyanopsia festival. The literal meaning of Pyanopsia is – the day of bean soup.
The legend has it that while sailing from Athens to Crete to kill Minotaur (a demon with the body of a man but head and tail of a bull), Theseus (King of Athens) stopped at the island of Delos. There he promised Apollo that if he wins the battle, he will return and offer olive branches decorated with fresh fruits to thank him.
As promised, after winning the war, Theseus returned to the island. However, after such a long journey nothing much was left on the ship so Theseus companions gathered everything they could find and cooked a delicious stew which we call Fasolada.
Beans used in making Fasolada
As I mentioned in my recipe of Greek Chickpea soup, Just like Indians, Greeks also use dry beans instead of canned beans. So, use dry white beans, soak it in water for at least 7-8 hours and then use it the soup.
However, to quicken the process I use a pressure cooker to partially cook the beans and then put it in the stew and complete the cooking process in a normal pot.
If you wish, you can skip the pressure cooker step and do the complete cooking in a normal pot but it will take more than double the time. You can also use an instant pot if you don’t have a pressure cooker.
How to serve?
Drizzle some olive oil on this soup and serve it with your choice of bread, olives, maybe some Feta cheese if you are not a vegan to enjoy a hearty meatless meal with family and friends.
You can also serve a classic Greek Salad or Greek potato salad, even a Fattoush with it.
This filling soup tastes amazing even if you don’t have anything else to serve with it.
More easy vegan bean soup recipes:
Bean soups are very comforting and filling. They are perfect for nutritious one-pot meals. If you also like bean soup and looking for some ideas then don’t miss to try the following vegan bean soup recipes on this blog:
4. Moroccan spiced chickpea and sweet potato soup
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How to make Greek White Bean Soup?
Greek White Bean Soup- Fasolada
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white beans
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 large tomato grated
- 4-5 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Salt as per taste
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 cups water/ vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Soak white beans in water for atleast 7-8 hours or overnight.
- Put the soaked beans, and around 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook till 2-3 whistles. The beans should only be partially cooked.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, heat some oil. Add the grated garlic and onions. Saute till onions become translucent.
- Add celery and carrots, saute for 2-3 minutes and then add the grated tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes for around 5-6 minutes.
- Next, add in the tomato paste, oregano, pepper, cumin powder, paprika, and salt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock/ water and white beans. Let it simmer for around 15-20 minutes. Switch off the gas.
- Take out the soup in a serving bowl, drizzle extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Enjoy with any bread of your choice.
It looks delicious ! Thanks for sharing !
Thank you so much 🙂