Greek Out Cookbook Review: Greek Recipes & Fasolada

Greek Out – Sunny Vibes, High- Energy Mediterranean Flavor by Maria Koutsogiannis – The creator of @foodbymaria

Do you harbour memories of Greek food from a recent trip to Greece or do you have a great interest in cooking Greek style recipes with simple fresh and healthy ingredients? If so, Greek Out ticks all the boxes.

Maria invites you to share Greek recipes from her family’s kitchen. She uses a combination of traditional-style cooking with a modern twist. Each recipe starts with a family back story from Maria’s own Greek upbringing, giving you an insight into how her recipes evolved.

What to expect from Greek Out. Below are a few examples of the chapters contained in the book:

The Greek Pantry
The Meze Before the Meal
From the Fourno
Greek Salad
Simmer Down

Greek Out contains more than a 120 beautifully photographed recipes that are easy to follow.

Here is a robust soup recipe adapted from Greek Out – ideal for this time of year.

Fasolada recipe: creamy Greek white bean soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, fully chopped
4 small carrots, peeled and diced
4 large celery ribs, diced
3 large garlic cloves grated or pressed
2 dried bay leaves
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
2(15 ounce) cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillion vegetable base
2 tablespoons tomato base
Crumbled feta, for serving
Finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves for serving

Method

COOK THE VEG – Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, reduce the heat to medium and, add the onion carrot,and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are soft and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes

SIMMER – Add the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, salt, pepper and chilli flakes and cook. Stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, stock base, and tomato paste, then add 6 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently simmer the soup partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender, the beans are buttery when mashed against the side of the pot, and the flavours have melted, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and/or pepper, if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

SERVE – Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with feta and parsley.

This is a delicious soup with lots of herbs and spices. Perfect if you wish to swap styles of white beans.

Fasolada recipe: creamy Greek white bean soup

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion fully chopped
4 small carrots peeled and diced
4 large celery ribs diced
3 large garlic cloves grated or pressed
2 dried bay leaves
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
2 15 ounce cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillion vegetable base
2 tablespoons tomato base
Crumbled feta for serving
Finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves for serving

Instructions

COOK THE VEG – Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, reduce the heat to medium and, add the onion carrot,and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are soft and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes
SIMMER – Add the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, salt, pepper and chilli flakes and cook. Stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, stock base, and tomato paste, then add 6 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently simmer the soup partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender, the beans are buttery when mashed against the side of the pot, and the flavours have melted, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and/or pepper, if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
SERVE – Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with feta and parsley.

Keyword comforting, greek, soup, winter

Greek Out is published by Hatchette Book Group and photography is by Linda Xiao. Available from all the usual book outlets.

Looking for more soup recipes? Click here or the image below.