Savory

Legumes soup

 

The weather plays games. As it seems it's getting colder, a soup is what we need.

We can choose a white bean soup ... or lentil soup ... or even meat ball soup! Why not a "palikaria" soup ?

When in a known store with goodies in Piraeus I heard about this variety of legumes. I was curious about it so I bought some to cook. Surfing in the internet I found that "palikaria" is the name of a Cretan recipe (usually salad) made from "all kinds of legumes that we can have in our pantry " .. as dear Vagelio says. I think that this variety of legumes is named after that Cretan recipe (can't be sure though). I'm not fond of bean salads so, I decided to make a soup with this legumes.

"Palikaria" consists of : brown lentils, red lentils, yellow split peas, chickpeas, beans, beads, black beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, red beans, butter beans, green beans fine, peas. Interesting eh; The instruction that was given to me by the salesman was to soak legumes overnight and then cook them as I would do for a normal soup. The result ... an amazing taste ... I think it's ideal for those who do not eat beans... all together they make a perfect combination.

Enjoy

 

Ingredients : 

 
  • 250 gr. legumes "palikaria"
  • 1 large red onion
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • about 4 cups of water
 

Preparation : 

 
  1. Soak legumes in water overnight.
  2. The next day drain in colander , rinse under water and set aside.
  3. Finely chop the onion, celery, dice the tomatoes and slice carrots in rounds.
  4. In a saucepan put half of the oil and sauté the onion and carrots.
  5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, remaining oil and toss.
  6. Add the legumes and the water and simmer for about 40 minutes.
  7. Depending on how thick you like your soup, adjust the amount of water accordingly.