Whether you love fall or dread it, you have to admit it’s a great time for a nice hot bowl of soup. Fasolada is a delicious white bean soup that warms your bones and fills your belly. It also happens to be vegan, so you can pat yourself on the back for making healthy choices while you enjoy this soup. Careful, don’t hurt yourself.

In addition to the beans, Fasolada requires onion, carrot, and celery. Our parents grow celery in their garden…

so that is what we used here, but supermarket celery will work just fine.  You will also need some form of tomato, either tomato sauce or paste or fresh tomato if you have it. Tomato paste  will thicken the soup up a bit and adds more intense flavor. When the soup is almost done, you will add olive oil. Use high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best results. Here are the details…

To make Fasolada you will need a bag of Great Northern Beans, carrot, celery, onion, tomato paste or sauce, and olive oil.

 Pick through the beans and remove any small pebbles or misshapen/broken beans.

Rinse beans and drain.  

Meanwhile, heat 6-8 cups of water in a kettle or pot. Add beans and hot water to a medium sized pot. Boil for 2 minutes uncovered and then cover and set aside for one hour.

While beans are soaking, separate celery leaves from stalks.  Chop celery stalks, carrot and onion. Leave celery leaves whole.

After beans have soaked for an hour, they will be soft on the outside but still crunchy on the inside. Drain the beans and return them to the pot. Add carrots, celery stalks and onion, then add about 5 cups of hot water. The water level should be about 1 inch above the beans.

Fasolada (White Bean Soup) 

Makes 4-6 servings

(Source: Athena Merianos)

Original article: Fasolada (White Bean Soup).

Our parents’ generation grew up during very difficult times in Greece. World War II followed by the Greek Civil War resulted in widespread poverty and unrest. They don’ talk about it very much, but the few stories they do share are pretty harrowing. While our own working-class, immigrant upbringing was modest by American standards, compared to what our parents endured we grew up in the lap of luxury: plenty of food on the table, clean clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads in a safe environment. Like a lot of American kids we were picky eaters, which was frustrating for parents who knew what it was to be truly hungry. Our Yiayia used to shake her head in disbelief when we rejected the food placed in front of us. One meal that we would always eat was Yahnista Macaronia. For our parents, this food is a symbol of poverty — they ate this in Greece because they had nothing else — so it is more than a little ironic that this is one of our all-time favorite meals. It is one of those simple comfort foods that fills your belly and makes you happy. The spaghetti is cooked in sort of a tomato-onion broth. When the starch from the pasta is released into the broth it transforms into a delicious sauce that coats every bite. Here is how you make it: 

All you will need is spaghetti, one onion, olive oil, water, salt,  pepper, and some form of tomato. We like to use canned pureed tomato because of the smooth, thick consistency. If it is tomato season you can add pureed fresh tomato and it will amp up the flavor.

Dice the onion and sauté in olive oil until translucent. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 15 minutes.

Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and spaghetti.

It will look like there is not enough water in your pot, but that is the secret to this dish. If you add too much water you’ll wind up with a watery, flavorless sauce. In order to prevent the pasta from sticking, you need to stir frequently. Keep a small pot of water simmering on the stove in case you need to add a bit, but do so with caution. Less water=more flavor. Cook for about 1 or 2 minutes less than what is stated on the package directions. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for about 3 minutes to let the sauce thicken. Add pepper to taste.Serve immediately. Yum.

Yahnista Macaronia (Poor Man’s Spaghetti)

Serves 4

Source: Athena Merianos 

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1-2 cups tomato puree (you can also use crushed tomatoes, tomato paste or fresh tomatoes. Adjust the amount of tomato to suit your taste)

5 cups water

1 lb pasta

1 T salt

pepper to taste

In a medium sized pot, heat oil over medium heat and add chopped onion. Saute until translucent. Add tomato and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 5 cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper and pasta. Adjust heat so the water doesn’t boil too rapidly and stir frequently to keep pasta from sticking (keep small saucepan of water simmering nearby in case you need to add more to the pot to prevent sticking). Cook 1-2 minutes less than package directions. Most of the water should be absorbed leaving a thin tomato sauce. Remove from heat and let sit for 3 minutes. Stir to distribute the sauce, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Original article: Yahnista Macaronia (Poor Man’s Spaghetti).

Given the frigid temps we’ve been dealing with in the Northeast it’s hard to believe that lent started last week and Easter is around the corner. During lent, Greek Orthodox Christians practice varying degrees of “fasting”. No, not a trendy juice fast. In the Greek church, fasting means abstaining from all animal products: meat, dairy, eggs, and most fish. Some fast for the entire 40 day lenten period, some only on Wednesdays and Fridays, others just during Holy Week. In our house lent meant peanut butter sandwiches in our lunch boxes and plenty of Lentil Soup. Luckily this soup is delicious, especially with a hunk of fresh homemade bread on the side. As an added bonus, using the Greek word for this soup – “fakes” (fah-KESS) – lets you feel like you are getting away with swearing at the dinner table. :) 

Lentil Soup (Fakes) Serves 6-8

Source: Athena Merianos via Effie Eraklis

1 lb. bag dry lentils

9 cups of water

1 large onion, diced

1 carrot, diced (optional)

2-3 garlic cloves, diced

2-3 bay leaves

1 TBLS cumin

1 6 oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper (to taste, some people leave it out completely)

Red wine vinegar (for serving)

Pick through the dry lentils to remove any small pebbles or discolored beans. Add the lentils to a large pot with about 9 cups of water (the water should be about four times the height of the lentils)*.   Add the onion, carrot (if using), garlic and bay leaves.  SLOWLY bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Be sure not to bring to a boil too quickly or simmer at too high a heat because that will cause the lentils to pop open.

Add tomato sauce, cumin, salt & pepper (if using) and cook for 15 minutes more. Add olive oil and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until beans are soft. Adjust seasoning to suit taste. Total cooking time is one hour.

Once the soup is served, each person can (and should!) add a splash or two of red wine vinegar to his/her bowl. The vinegar really brings this soup alive, but too much can be overpowering. As Thea Athenoula said when she was teaching me how to make this ‘you can always put more, but you can’t take it out if you put too much…ok?’.

*Feel free to adjust the water according to your preference. More water will make it soupier, less water will make it thicker. You may want to keep a small pot or kettle of water boiling on the side. That way if the beans have absorbed a lot of water and are still hard, or the soup is looking too thick, you can adjust by adding a bit of hot water.

 Serving suggestions: As we mentioned above, this soup is perfect with a great crusty bread for dipping.  Try it with some feta sprinkled on top – so good! Also, although it’s intended as a hot soup, cold leftovers are delicious.

Photos: Effie Eraklis

Original article: Lentil Soup (Fakes).