Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 500g small dried white beans (we use navy beans)
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 3 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 large celery stalks, finely chopped (reserve the green celery leaves if your stalk has them)
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 8–10 cups of water
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- for serving: feta cheese & chili flakes (we love to garnish with these smoked chili flakes: boukovo)
Instructions
- Soak your beans in a large bowl with enough water to cover them by a few inches the night before you are going to make your fasolada. (This step is crucial if you want to ensure your beans cook all the way through in a uniform manner)
- The next day, drain the beans, add them to a large pot along with 2-3 liters of water. Cook over high heat just until the water comes to a boil and foam has started rising to the top of the pot. Drain the beans and reserve.
- In a medium sized pot or dutch oven set over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of olive oil along with the chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, just until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes to bring out the flavor of the tomato.
- Add in the par-boiled beans & 8 cups of water, turn the heat up to high and cook until the soup has come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer, with a lid left slightly ajar, for 1 – 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Test the beans after 1 – 1.5 hours, once they are adequately soft you can season the soup with salt & pepper to taste (some beans may need more cooking time, just make sure they are relatively soft before adding the salt because salt can inhibit the cooking process of the beans) Once you have seasoned the soup, add in chopped green celery leaves if you have them)
- Continue cooking the soup over medium low heat for another 30 minutes to 1 hour. The broth should have started to thicken and the beans should be on the verge of almost melting. When the fasolada has reached this stage, stir in the remainder of the olive oil and cook for about 10 minutes. Adding the olive oil will thicken the broth to just the right consistency and lend a beautiful flavor to the soup.
- Serve with feta cheese and chili flakes if desired. Enjoy with crusty bread and olives (or my [no-knead Greek olive bread|https://www.ful-filled.com/2021/01/10/no-knead-greek-olive-bread/)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cuisine: Greek
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl