Fassolada

Name: Fassolada (Bean soup)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: salt and black pepper; the leaves of a bunch of parsley, chopped; 1 large onion, chopped, or 1 large leek, sliced; 225 g (8 oz) dried haricot or butter beans, soaked overnight; 2 potatoes, peeled and diced; 2 large carrots, halved and sliced; 12 black olives; 15 ml spoon (1 tablespoon) rigani; 2 very large ripe tomatoes, or 2 × 15 ml spoon (2 tablespoons) tomato purée, or a 397 g (14 oz) can of tomatoes; 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and split; 6 × 15 ml spoon (6 tablespoons) olive oil; 3 sticks of celery with any undamaged leaves, sliced

Bean soup

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Cooking of the Mediterranean

By Jane Grigson

Published 1991

About

The standard dish of Greek family life, cheap and easy to make, and good because the vegetables have so much flavour. The quantities vary from cook to cook, for instance, I have rather reduced the quantity of beans, since most people will be serving it as a first course. Should it be the whole meal, use double the amount.

Ingredients

225 g (8 oz) dried haricot or butter beans, soaked overnight
2 very large ripe tomatoes

Europe
Greece
Vegan
Gluten-free
Mediterranean
Soup

Method

Drain the beans, rinse them, then put them into a large pan with plenty of water to cover, with the vegetables, garlic, rigani, half the parsley leaves and the oil. Do not add salt. Bring to the boil, boil for 10 minutes, then simmer until the beans are tender, about 1½–2 hours. Now add the salt and pepper to taste, plus the olives and extra water if the soup is thicker than you like. Simmer fo