White Kidney Beans Soup (Fasolada)

I can’t wait for summer to come. I want the weather to become warm, I want to go on holidays and I want the schools to be over. I am sure you wonder why a 41 year old woman would want the schools to close. The reason is that I have a 7 year old boy, whom everyday I have to help study his lessons. Let me tell you it’s no fun, no fun at all. Now I can understand my mother when she used to tell us that when schools where closed she was feeling a new person. Anyway, we are two months away from summer holidays and when the time will come, I will feel a new person as well.

This soup is a farewell to the winter. It is a traditional Greek dish eaten during cold winter days (not that we had any of these this last winter). Every house in Greece cooks this soup at least once in two weeks. It is great when accompanied with fresh warm bread, feta cheese and anchovies. I love this dish and I eat it as often as possible. Also, my child likes it and it is very nutritious for him as well. This is my family’s version.

We put the beans in a pot and cover them with water. Put them on high heat and when they start to boil we let them for 5 minutes. Then we drain them and throw away this water. We put them again in the pot. We add the carrots, the tomatoes, the celery, the onion, the sugar, the cinnamon and nutmeg and refill with water to cover the beans plus 3cm. above them. Put in high heat and when they start to boil lower to medium low and simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours depending on the beans. After two hours you can test and if they are soft you add the olive oil and salt and pepper let it boil for 5 minutes more and then turn off the fire. The reason why we put salt in the end is because in this way we avoid making the beans tough. The reason why we put the olive oil at the end is because it is better for the oil not to boil for a long time.