Fasolada (Greek Minestrone Soup)

In Olympics news yesterday, the US won seven medals in track and field events. Highlights from those events include Allyson Felix’s win in the women’s 200m event and Aries Merrit’s world record setting win in the men’s 110m hurdles. Britney Reese took gold in the women’s long jump, the first time the US has taken gold in this event since Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s 1988 win. Gold wasn’t limited to track events, with US women’s beach volleyball pair May and Trainer-Walsh taking gold for the third Olympics in a row, defeating fellow Americans Kessy and Ross who took silver in their Olympic debut.

Today’s post features the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, when the Games returned to their birthplace. The Athens Summer Games saw Michael Phelps win six gold medals and eight medals in total, becoming the first Olympian to do so in a non-boycotted Games. Argentina won the men’s football gold without giving up a single goal, and canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first Olympian to win two medals in each of five Olympic Games.

I call the recipe I chose for Athens “Greek minestrone,” but it’s better known as fasolada. This is such a simple soup to put together and it yields delicious comfort food quality results. Soaking the beans and simmering the soup do take a considerable amount of time so be sure to plan ahead in order to make this. It also makes a huge amount, so plan on feeding a crowd or freezing some for another day.

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Fasolada

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dried navy beans
• 12 C. water (you may need more)
• 1 1/2 C. canned crushed tomatoes
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp. oregano
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• ground pepper
• 1/2 C. chopped parsley
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 celery ribs, sliced
• 1-2 onions (depending on size), chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste

Directions:

Rinse and pick over the beans, then put them in a pot and add enough water to cover the beans by three inches.

Soak overnight, then drain.

Add enough water to the pot to cover the beans by a few inches again and bring to a boil.

Cook the beans for 5-10 minutes and drain.

Pour 12 cups of water into a large pot.

Add beans and all of the remaining ingredients except the salt to the pot and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for an hour and a half.

Remove the lid and continue to cook another 30 minutes or until the beans are tender and the soup has thickened, adding more water if needed.

Season to taste with salt (you may need a considerable amount due to the large amount of soup).

Source: Elly Says Opa