Φασούλι, φασούλι γεμίζεις το σακούλι.
“Bean by bean, you fill the bag.”
(Meaning: Saving a little each day will result in a bounty.)
Beans and legumes, called ospria in Greek, are one of the most ancient and important staples in the cuisine. They are also one of my favorite foods.
Porridges of koukia (broad beans), lupins, lentils, peas, and chickpeas were the food of the poor, as well as the favorite food of Hercules, according to the ancient Greek comic writer Aristophanes, who mentions that in his renowned work, The Frogs. (Indeed, ancient Greek literature is filled with references to this humble foodstuff.) The ancient Greeks consumed beans and pulses in various forms, not all that different from what we still find in the Greek kitchen today: as porridges, mentioned above; fresh (tender green broad beans, pea and chickpea shoots, green beans, and fresh black-eyed peas are still loved in Greek cooking today); dried like nuts, as in the ancient trogalia, roasted chickpeas, which continue to be a favorite snack called and are called stragalia today; and, of course, cooked into stews and soups.
The importance of beans and pulses in the ancient diet has long been corroborated by physical evidence, as remnants of these seminal foods have been found at many archeological sites, some dating to the early Bronze Age.
The range of beans and pulses cultivated in Greece has grown, with white beans, native to the New World, now the most important, so much so that Greeks consider one of their national dishes to be fasolada, or white bean soup (here). Small and medium white beans, as well as giant beans, known as gigantes (YEE-ghan-dess), are cultivated in the fertile, damp terrain of northern Greece, namely in the areas around Kozani and Kastoria. Santorini, with its unique volcanic soil, is renowned for its yellow split peas, an ancient, seminal food on the island. The islands of Limnos and Amorgos, as well as Feneos in Arcadia, the Peloponnese, also produce split peas highly esteemed by Greek connoisseurs. The best Greek lentils are said to be from Englouvi in the highlands of Lefkada, one of the Ionian islands, and the best broad bean is from Lasithi in Crete.
Beans and pulses have nourished and inspired Greek cooks from the most ancient times to the present. The country wouldn’t have have made it through wars, famine, or the Axis occupation during World War II without beans and pulses. The long fasting periods of the Greek Orthodox calendar, which amount to about half the year, would be a nutritional desert without the myriad bean dishes that provide an excellent source of plant protein, and whole protein when combined with grains or other vegetables.
In this chapter, I’ve offered up a few of my favorite dishes—some traditional, some contemporary—to show the range, imagination, and traditions of Greek bean cuisine.