Fassoulada (φασολάδα)
Mar 13th, 2009 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Beans, Greek, Legume, Lent, Main, Olive Oil, Olives, Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian)
Recipe update from Oct.16, 2007:
Fassoulada is a Greek navy bean soup. It’s a standard dish during Lent, appears on the Greek kitchen table on many a Friday when meat is not consumed and frankly, one of the most enjoyable yet rustic dishes in the Greek repertoire of cooking.
This soup is best enjoyed with some good, homemade bread, some olives and some kind of pickled vegetable. A family fave are these pickled cherry tomatoes (either hot or sweet). Being from northern Greece, our family leans towards the hot cherry peppers.
Fassoulada can be served as a first course soup but it’s usually enjoyed as a main. With the bread, olives and pickled cherry peppers (or your preferred pickled vegetables), this becomes a substantive and healthy meal.
Fassoulada (φασολάδα)
1 cup of small dry (white) navy beans
1 large stalk of celery, halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large carrot, halved then cut into 1/2 inch pieces on a bias
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 cup of pomodoro or tomato puree (passata)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 whole chile pepper
2 tsp. of smoked paprika
8 cups of water
salt to taste
- The night before you are to make this soup, soak the beans in water overnight.
- Drain the water from the beans and place them into a pressure cooker. Now add all of the remaining ingredients into the pressure cooker.
- Close the lid of your cooker (according to mfgrs’ instructions) and place in on high heat. You should have the cooker whistling in about 20 minutes.
- Lower your heat to medium and allow the soup to simmer in the cook for an hour. Take your cooker off the heat, release the steam switch and ONLY open the cooker after you cease to hear any whistling.
- Adjust for seasoning with with salt, remove bay leaves.
Note: If not using a pressure cooker, you’ll need about 2 1/2 hours on the stovetop with a conventional pot or other vessel.
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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
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© 2009 – 2010, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
Ohhhh, what a glorious soup… Mmmm, I can practically taste the paprika and olive oil… Heaven!
Wow this is a reall delish and a very filling soup.
I think I’d make the soup, just to say it’s name! Looks delicious. I love the smoky, spicy accents.
It’s amazing how some dishes resemble one to another in Spanish and Greek gastronomy! This is what we call a Fesolada… the little beans are called fesols!!!
And of course being a legume, I love the dish :D. Delicious pictures Peter!
This navy bean soup is beautiful! Really appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
cooking OSPRIA (the general word for pulses in greek) always takes a long time in our house as i never use a pressure cooker (can’t get used to the damn things)
i start it up in the morning right after the kids get to school, then i leave the house (i’m not kidding) and do my shopping and town errands, and come home to ready pot of bean soup
the trick is to use gas on the lowest setting, keep the pot tightly covered, and add enough water to avoid any possibility of evaporation of liquids…
I have made these before.. i love your color & the pretty pickled tomatoes.
One more reason to buy that pressure cooker I’ve been coveting….
A perfect Lenten dish with lots of bread and olives.
That looks heavenly! I just caught up on all my reading and I love what’s happening here! Keep up the amazing work.
Can I have a bowl for lunch please? That soup looks really lovely Peter!
Ps: I’m making that pasta dish of yours tonight (recipe post before this)!
I could easily eat this as a main dish. Looks delicious. I had no idea the Greeks had any other soup besides the lemony chicken one!! JK :)
oh, yum! those cherry peppers sound delicious!
This looks like a very hearty and nutritious soup Peter. I’m not sure I know what navy beans are though – perhaps we call them something different here n the UK? They look a bit like haricot beans.
Delicious! I am trying to get a few soups in before the warm weather hits.
Beautiful. Whenever I see meals like this I am reminded that I don’t cook beans enough. they are so healthy and delicious!
Oh, it’s a perfect day here for that! It looks perfect and delicious.
Love this one! It is so colorful and I am sure delicious!
Looks like a great meal!
Peter your photos of your Fassoulada speak for themselves just what a vibrant delicious soup this must be!
My brother would just adore this recipe to try. I am going to pass this onto him with your blog link too. I also would enjoy this soup with a slice or broken off chunk of crusty bread – perfection!
Gorgeous color here. There’s still enough chill here to warrant a soup. You’ve sorely tempted me.
Great looking soup Peter. Love the color!
Looks very hearty. And our temperatures are still cold enough here to welcome this type of soup!
What a perfect soup. I like that you served it with bread, olives and pickled tomatoes – simple foods are the best.
The perfect soup for the cold winter days!!! And with homemade bread … perfect!!!
Nice photos Peter!!
This family favourite would be very comforting during these last few days of winter:D
The recipe sounds delicious and the pictures are SO tempting. It is summer for me and suddenly I’m dying for soup, when I normally only think about frappuccinos.
Wonderful Lenten tradition, Peter! Soup is still a “must” at this time of year, in this climate.
I loved your photo of the arch at Thessoliniki (did I spell that right? Probably not – sorry), too. I’ve been teaching my son about Greece this week in Geography, and are using some of your pictures as a first rate travelogue!
S.O.U.P!!! I have such a *thing* for soup, and this looks just wonderful. I wish I could get past my fear of pressure cookers. I’m missing out on so many yummy meals. This soup could very well be the item that breaks the barrier! And those pickled cherry peppers have my name written ALL over them! YUM!
I love the idea of serving this with pickled cherry tomatoes — a perfect ‘high note’ to this wonderful rustic soup.
Come winter come, I am so ready for soup!!! I love the dried olives…my favorite kind!!!
Sorry..I haven’t been around Peter…been travelling and now I’m back to admire your beautiful “soupa”. The pickled tomatoes are a nice touch too!
looks like the perfect thing to go with all the bread you’ve been making. Great photos!
MMMMMMM…this soup looks wondefully yummie:)!!!
Looks delicious — and I loved that you served it with crusty bread, salty black olives and vinegary peppers. Yum!
I love fassolada Peter, I I think the northern Greek addition of some hot peppers really suits the taste of the beans and gives it an extra twist.
Such a delicious soup to serve during lent. But, I think I can serve this anytime as well.
Cheers,
elra
What a gorgeous bowl of soup Peter, and I love your serving suggestions.
this soup looks like something that’d really hit the spot right now, since i can’t get even a smidgen of air through my nasal passages. yep, i’m sick, and your brothy, beany creation would be perfect.
What great accompaniments to serve with the soup. I’m going to steal that idea! Thanks Peter.
LL
Delicious! That reminds me, I have some beans somewhere that need cooking… And I still haven’t bought my pressure cooker!
Simple and delicious! What could be better?
Oh yes I love fassolada and yours looks nostimotati !
mmm…. soup. Peter, I think this is just what I need to cure what ails me. Just looking at the photo makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Great looking meal!
Sounds wonderful! I love the smoked paprika in it!
One of my most favorite food experiences involved a white fasolathia in Messinia. Love the pressure cook approach and bay leaf. Now I know what I am making for at least one meal this week.
Love the soup. Smoked paprika would be a wonderful addition to it.
This loooks delicious! It’s spring today (grilling) but winter is not done with Minnesota yet. Bookmarked this – and grand for Fridays in Lent. Love the pickled tomatoes.
This is one of my favorite things, even though I only started liking it a few years ago! I love how easy it is to just throw everything together and let it rip. You’ve reminded me I haven’t blogged this yet so I may need to get on making a version soon. :)
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That looks nice and simple and healthy and tasty!
nice soup! but i have to admit, this winter is killing me and i’m starting to yearn for warm-weather food. i remember when you posted about doing the pickled cherry peppers. those were the warm days! can’t wait till that time again.
Yummm, and nibbles served alongside this are perfect.
i’m a bean soup fanatic these days. nice version.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kalofagas Greek Food, Georgie Kubarych. Georgie Kubarych said: Can I come to @kalofagas @mlazopoulou A big bowl of "Fassoulada (φασολάδα) – ( http://bit.ly/c01Sc0 ) Just like my Manoula's! [...]
Looks good Peter … definitely a family favorite in this house.
It looks delicious! Love it!