Here's the recipe to one of my favourite hearty Greek dishes: fasolada. I vividly remember it being a staple whenever I'd have tea at my childhood friend Amalia's house. As a child it was always seen as a very, let's say, rustic dish. Can you tell I'm avoiding the number one dreaded word to kids: "healthy"? However as an adult this nostalgic dish is super duper comforting and I go out of my way to cook it. Funny that...
Ingredients: 500g dry white beans / 3-4 carrots / 1 red onion / 3 stalk of celery / 130ml extra virgin olive oil / 2 tbsps tomato puree / a pinch of paprika / salt & freshly ground pepper
1. To prepare the fasolada, place the beans in a saucepan with plenty of cold water to cover them. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down to medium and parboil for 30-35 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain in colander and set aside.
2. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrots. Add 3-4 tbsps of olive oil in a deep pan, add the chopped vegetables and blend. Sauté for about 2 minutes and add the tomato paste and continue sautéing for a minute.
3. Add the parboiled beans in the pan and pour in enough boiling water to cover the beans and little bit more and blend lightly. Place the lid on and simmer the fasolada for about 35 minutes, until the beans are tender.
4. Towards the end of the coking time, pour in the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Boil for a few more minutes, until the soup becomes thick and creamy.
5. Serve while steaming hot with a giant chunk of village bread - profanos.
Kali orexi!
