Fasolada - Greek White Bean Soup
Tender white beans stewed in a rich tomato broth. Naturally vegan and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups dry cannellini or white kidney beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions, diced 200g
- 2 medium stalks celery, diced 100g
- 1 medium carrot, sliced 100g
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped 8g
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons VEGETA or similar food seasoning optional
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- 6 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped optional
Instructions
- Wash the beans very well in a few changes of cold water if necessary. Soak in 3 times their amount of cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse again.
- In a large pot or a pressure cooker, add soaked beans and cover with twice their volume of cold water. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the beans for 1½-2 hours or until very soft. If using a pressure cooker, cook under pressure for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to drop naturally. The beans should be very soft. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pot heat the olive oil on high until hot. Add the diced onion, celery and sliced carrot. Add salt and pepper and sweat for 1 minute. Add sugar and VEGETA food seasoning, if using. Sautee for another minute. Add tomato paste and chopped tomato. Stir well then cover and cook over medium-low for 5 minutes.
- Add water or vegetable stock and cooked beans. Bring to a boil then cover the pot and lower the heat. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft. Add fresh dill, if using. With the back of a wooden spoon, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot until the soup becomes creamy. Do not mash too much however as you still want to leave many beans whole. Adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary (I added an extra half teaspoon of salt). Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
You can also use canned beans for this recipe--this saves the step of soaking and cooking.