Greek white bean soup (fasolada)
Greece’s national soup: white beans simmered with carrots, celery and tomato in plenty of olive oil until thick, silky and deeply comforting.
- 50 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.26 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, sliced into coins
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 510 calories, 22 g protein, 67 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $2.26 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the carrots and celery, the garlic, and and rinse the beans.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Heat half the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, about 7 minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute, until the paste darkens a little.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the beans, tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, oregano, bay leaves and pepper and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, set the and for 25 minutes, until the carrots are very tender and the soup has .
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Low heatTimer: 25 min
Stir in the rest of the olive oil and the lemon juice, pull out the bay leaves, and taste for salt.
Dolly’s tip: The olive oil stirred in at the end is not a mistake. It’s what makes fasolada rich and silky.Ladle into bowls and scatter the parsley on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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