Fasolada — Greek White Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried white beans, soaked overnight
• 2 Carrots, in thick coins
• 2 Celery stalks with leaves, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ cup olive oil, plus more to finish
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 6 cups water
• Salt and black pepper
• Red wine vinegar, olives, and feta, for the table

Method

1. Simmer the drained beans in the water with the bay leaf for 40 minutes, skimming the foam in the first few minutes. They should be nearly tender before anything acidic goes in.
2. Add the onion, Carrots, Celery, oregano, and the olive oil — all of it, and yes it looks like a lot. Fasolada is as much an olive oil dish as a bean dish.
3. Simmer 25 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and cook 10 minutes more until the broth turns creamy-orange and slightly thickened.
4. Season with salt and pepper only now, and mash a ladleful of beans against the pot to thicken the soup. It should be spoonable, not watery.
5. Serve with a splash of vinegar in each bowl, another drizzle of oil, and olives and feta alongside. Better on day two, as everyone in Greece will tell you.