“Lazy” Bean Soup
By Peter G • Sep 5th, 2008 • Category: Greek Food, Recipes
Sometimes I just can’t be bothered. I’m sure we all have moments like that. So when it came to preparing a meal the other night I looked into my trusted pantry and went through a quick rundown of what I could cook. I was craving that famous Greek bean soup known as “fasolada”. Again, this was a soup that was featured quite heavily in my childhood years and one that I didn’t appreciate until I got older. “Fasolada” is a vegetarian soup and traditionally uses haricot beans as the star. It’s flavoured with olive oil, tomatoes, celery and carrots. You get the idea. Ideally eaten in times of Lent, it’s quite a filler. And full of fibre. So back to the pantry…I had run out of haricot beans and I wanted to satisfy my hunger quickly. So I opted to use a few cans of cannellini beans I have for these types of emergencies.
Man did this do the trick! Whilst it isn’t your traditional Greek “fasolada” it comes pretty close. It’s my lazy way to prepare it. Whilst I enjoy eating a lot of beans I must admit the whole preparation of them can be quite annoying. And I’m primarily talking about the soaking part. The soup came out a little thicker than I expected but that could easliy be rectified by adding more stock or water. Again, I really don’t have a set recipe as such for this. Like I explained, I threw in what I found in my pantry and used up a few leftover vegies in the fridge. The other thing I added was some chopped up smoked bacon that just screamed to be used with this dish. Beans + bacon are just perfect together. Don’t forget also that because the cannellini beans are canned, they don’t need that much time cooking on the stove. I had three portions leftover and I froze them for my next emergency!
In a large pot fry off some diced smoked bacon in a little olive oil. Once it has gotten crispy add a finely diced onion and some crushed garlic. Cook until translucent. Add two cans of cannellini beans, give everything a good stir and add two cups of chicken stock. Throw in some chopped chunks of carrot and some chopped celery. Add about one and a half cups of passata, salt, pepper and a few bay leaves. Let it come to a quick boil and then lower the heat to medium and let everything cook 30-45 mins. I had some leftover parsley and stirred that through at the last minute. Serve immediately with some crusty bread and some extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top of the soup.
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Peter G is a passionate foodie of Greek descent living in Australia. You'll usually find him cooking up a storm in the kitchen and photographing all his exploits.
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Oh no! you beat me to this…I just made some white bean soup & got nice shots, too
Mmmm bacon is a fab addition! This would be perfect today - so windy and rainy - where did you go Spring?
This looks wonderfully simple yet delicious. I always keep a can of cannellini beans handy for just such a dish.
Hola Amigo! See how organized I’m getting? I’m the 4th in the row today and plan to be the first soon ;D.
I love beans! And the way you cooked them here is so similar to our ways!!!! Can’t wait for the winter to come and do these kind of comford food! Mmmmm, if it wasn’t this hot here, I would have them for lunch… maybe with some morcilla or chorizo too in the bowl ;D
You take the best pictures. I wish I had your skills (and camera). Someday you’ll have to teach me. I’ve never heard of this soup (surprise surprise) but it sounds delicious, quick and affordable. I love cannellini beans.
I can’t wait for winter to come just for fasolada. It is so delicious.
Looks like a terrific, quickie dinner. My kinda recipe!
I make something similar to this in one pot (big surprise!) with chicken and spinach. It’s so delicious. This looks really, really good Peter. I have gotten a lot more into beans and legumes as of late than I used to be.
We can forgive you Peter for not wanting to cook a lavish meal:D. You did take beautiful photos as always to make us want to dig right in:D
I like the “lazy” part of the dish. Hehe. Sometimes the best meals are the ones that “clean your pantry” and use a lot of left overs, right? Oh I can’t wait for fall and winter to start cooking dishes like this again
I love soups using beans - it looks as though the cannellinis worked perfectly. They are a great time-saver for someone like me who can never remember to soak dried beans overnight!
I love bean soups! And beans with bacon is perfect!
hey its ok to cheat … i do it too ..
these canned beans are also gr8 in salads. I like this soup, just in time when i was thinking what soup to make to break my fast today. I have some cans in the store !!
That looks delicious Peter! I love beans so much - in soups, sautees, however. This is not really a cheat as far as I can see it, just a beautiful quick, healthy and filling meal!
Having a recipe like this at the ready, makes the certain-to-come rain here in the Pacific Northwest of the US a little easier to take! Thanks. I’ve got everything in my pantry except “passata”… there’s something tomato-y looking in the soup. Is that passata?
I love a good bean soup! Especially with a little bacon. Canned beans are so practical, why not use them? The only reason to stick to dried is for cost (and sometimes you can get interesting varieties that you can’t get canned). For my money, though, canned canellinis are great eats.
we’ve been having a lot of sun for a week and a week is spent in the garden was just beautiful. and then just today, from morning until now, it is windy and drizzling which comes the cold snap! i hate when this happens but then look again. the garden is fairly dry and needs water. so be it. let the rain be pouring and so we can have a break from hoeing, digging and planting. this bean soup is just perfect to fill in the cold not so spring day like today, P.
Pete, great show, using canned beans & such! I’ll be making soups again soon and this is top on my list. Our family also likes adding pig into the fassolada mix!
this looks hearty, healthy and very delicious. i’d like to try it substituting sun-dried tomatoes for bacon.
Yum. Cannellini are always in the pantry for similar emergencies.
Congratulations Peter on winning the Joust this month. Excellent choice of ingredients as well:D
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! FELICIDADES!!!!!
You made it
:D ♥♥♥. I couldn’t wait for your next post.
Your choice of ingredients is a bit difficult for me… but I love the challenge
I think minus the bacon this come really close to the Greek stuff! I know what you mean about lazy days though…
Just right for the cold and wet days here in the UK.
We also like adding bacon to our soups..but can do without !!
I know exactly what you mean by “lazy” when it comes to beans… Soaking and first-cooking dried beans is never fun and if there are canned beans around, I’ll opt for them. As for fassolada, it has to be one of my all-time fave autumn/winter comfort dishes. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the recipe - I cooked this tonight, and my tastebuds were tangoing, and it even made my picky boyfriend happy!