Quick & Easy Greek Bean Soup – Fasolada

Quick, Easy Greek Bean Soup – Fasolada

Bean soups take forever to make mostly because one has to soak dried beans overnight before pre-cooking them for use. To make this almost instant Greek classic, look for good quality, low-sodium canned beans, preferably organic.

Bean soup, fasolada in Greek, simmers on winter stovetops in Greek home kitchens all over the world in winter. It’s a classic in Ikaria, too. I love it. This quick & easy soup is a recipe from my lastest book, an instant NYT bestseller (!), THE IKARIA WAY.

It’s the ultimate feel-good food, and you can make a big batch to freeze for later in the week or month.

I cheat a little, too. An easy hack for this classic soup is to use good quality, low-sodium canned beans. Drain and rinse them in a colander first. Using canned beans reduces the cooking time by more than half, so you can make this a midweek hearty meal.

Ingredients
⅓ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil
3 medium onions halved and cut into thin slices
1 chili pepper seeded and chopped
2 celery ribs trimmed and chopped (with leaves)
2 large carrots peeled, cut in half lengthwise and then into ¼ inch half moon slices
2 cans cannellini or kidney beans or both, drained and rinsed
6 cups water
1 large bay leaf
3 plum tomatoes peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
⅓ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Greek sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-4 Tbsp strained fresh lemon juice or sherry vinegar
Instructions
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large soup pot and saute the onions and chopped chili pepper over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions begin to caramelize for 10-12 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the beans to the pot, toss to coat, and pour in the water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce flame and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes, until the beans are completely soft.
Add the tomatoes. Ten minutes before removing from heat, add the parsley and season with salt and pepper. When the beans are done, pour in the remaining olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar. Serve hot.

is there any healthier comfort food than a great bean soup all the better when it’s almost instant so easy to make this is a recipe from my New York Times bestselling cookbook the Iaria way have good quality low sodium canned beans on hand to prepare it peel and chop the carrots chop the onions and celery then chop up some parsley or any other fresh herb of choice sauté the onions celery and carrots in extra virgin Greek olive oil next add the beans water or vegetables stock bay leaves Thyme and dried Greek oregano pour in the plum tomatoes simmer until the vegetables are tender about 20 minutes season with sea salt and balance the flavor with more olive oil and either lemon juice or light vinegar at the end serve it up and feel good because you’ve just had something really healthy and very delicious so healthy