011Bean soup

Method

Classic red bean soup (kokkini). Serve hot in bowls accompanied by Kalamata olives, pickled chillies, and crusty bread.

You will need

• Large heavy-bottomed pot
• Colander
• Ladle

1. Drain the soaked beans, place them in a pot with fresh water to cover, bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes, then drain thoroughly. 8 min Ready when: Water turns cloudy and is discarded
2. Return the blanched beans to the pot along with the chopped onion, sliced carrots, celery, and 1.5 litres of fresh water. 2 min
3. Bring to a gentle boil, cover partially with a lid, and simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minutes until the beans start to tenderise. 45 min Ready when: Beans are mostly soft under gentle pressure
4. Dissolve the tomato paste in a ladleful of the hot broth and pour it back into the pot, stirring well. 2 min Ready when: Broth turns an even red hue
5. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and black pepper, and boil vigorously uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. 18 min Ready when: Oil emulsifies with the starch, turning the broth thick, opaque, and creamy (chylomeni)

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Can be cooked a day ahead; the broth naturally thickens as it stands.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; add a splash of water when reheating.

Substitutions

• lemon juice for tomato paste. Creates fasolada aspri (white bean soup), seasoned at the very end with lemon.

Common mistakes

• Adding salt and tomato paste right at the beginning of cooking.. Acidity and salt can harden the skins of pulses, significantly extending cooking time.
• Adding the olive oil at the start and simmering weakly.. The oil needs a brisk boil at the end to emulsify with bean starch to achieve the classic velvety broth.

Regional variants

• Fasolada aspri (lemon and olive oil white soup)
• Spicy Macedonian fasolada with hot red pepper flakes (boukovo)

About the dish

Commonly referred to as the national dish of Greece, fasolada is an emblematic staple of domestic sustenance. Bean stews date back to antiquity, where pulse broths were documented during the Pyanopsia festival dedicated to Apollo. The modern soup took its classic form with the post-Columbian introduction of New World Phaseolus beans and tomatoes. Prepared both as 'kokkini' (with tomato) and 'aspro' (white, finished with lemon juice), it has anchored the rural and urban winter table across every region for generations.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, lent, winter.

Cousins elsewhere

• Pasta e fagioli (Italian). A Mediterranean pulse soup relying on white beans, celery, and olive oil, though cooked with pasta.
• Fasolada (Cypriot). Prepared similarly in Cyprus, often with Swiss chard or local root vegetables.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

628 kcal · protein 24.8 g · fat 29.3 g (saturated 4.1 g) · carbohydrate 71.6 g (sugars 7.4 g) · fibre 27.3 g · sodium 100 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Traditional pan-Hellenic home preparation with late oil emulsification (chyloma)..

Read more

• Olive Oil and the Mediterranean Diet in Greece