How to make creamy yellow split pea soup (Greek fava)
Good evening everyone! We have only two days until Christmas!
It is very hard to get into the “festive” mood with everything that is going on into the world. I sincerely hope you and your families are safe wherever you are! Honestly, hoping for the best and trying to stay safe is all we can do at the moment.
I am grateful I was able to travel home (Athens, Greece) safely for the holidays and spend these days with my family. I am indulging to amazing Greek foods and I today I am sharing a traditional Greek recipe for yellow split lentil soup (Greek fava)! I have been asked to share more legume recipes, so I hope you will enjoy this one.
In the UK, if you look for fava beans at the grocery stores you will find a different type of legume. In Greece we call yellow split peas “fava” and fava beans “koukia”! So, if you run into a Mediterranean or Greek grocery store and see “Greek fava” on the shelve, it’s actually yellow split peas!
Today’s recipe is vegan, gluten free, high protein, high in insoluble fibre and with a low glycaemic index! It is quite energy dense, even though I added much less olive oil than we usually add in Greece!
- This meal tastes amazing with feta cheese on top, in case you are not interested in keeping the energy content low!
- You can add a couple of tablespoons to steamed vegetables to add a vegan protein source to your meal.
- Try having a cup of this meal with a portion of white or oily fish. It tastes amazing!
- You can add a variety of raw vegetables on top as garnish; today I have added diced onions. Adding chopped tomatoes and olives is also a great idea!
- You can serve with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I have added lemon juice for extra vitamin C to enhance iron absorption.
- You can add salt and pepper to taste! Overall I avoid adding salt to all of my recipes.
Cooking tips!
This is a medium difficulty recipe, because the food is mostly cooked in high heat without covering with a lid! Before we the recipe, please check a couple of tips:
- Choose the tallest stock pot you have to avoid hot food splashing on your clothes or your face.
- If you feel the food is sticking to the bottom, immediately move the pot from the hot stove and stir with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and put the food on the stove again after a minute.
- Set aside a cup of hot water just in case you need to add some more.
- Every stove is different! If food is splashing or sticking to the bottom all the time, then you do not have to maintain a high heat. Just make sure it is still boiling!
Greek creamy yellow split pea soup
Equipment
- stove
- stock pot
- wooden spoon
- stainless steel sieve
- immersion hand blender
- water boiler
Ingredients
- 500 grams yellow split beans or Greek fava raw
- 400 grams carrots raw, unpeeled
- 400 grams courgettes raw, unpeeled
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 60 ml fresh lemon juice
- 10-20 fresh parsley leaves washed and chopped
Instructions
- Wash the courgettes and carrots and peel the carrots. Cut both vegetables into thick pieces (2-3 cm long).
- Put the split lentils in the sieve and wash them with tap water for 2-3 minutes. You will notice foam forming, keep washing with tap water until there is no foam left.
- Start heating the water in the water boiler. If you cannot heat 2L at once it's ok, you can add the rest of the hot water a little later.
- Put the pot on the stove and add the olive oil to cover the bottom. Turn the stove and set the temperature to high heat.
- Add the carrots and courgettes and keep mixing until you sweat both vegetables (3-4 minutes).
- Add the washed split peas and ground pepper and mix.
- Pour the boiling water and mix.
- If you coould not add 2L of water at first, heat the rest of the water as son as possible, pour and mix again.
- Reduce the heat but not a lot, maintain a medium to high heat and make sure the water is boiling.
- Keep boiling for 50 minutes (medium to high heat). For the first 30 minutes, stir every ten minutes to make sure the food will not stick to the bottom. Maintain a medium-high heat.
- For the last 20 minutes stir every five minutes. If there is not enough water left, add some more hot water.
- Turn the heat off and put the pot away from the stove. Let the food cool down for a minute.
- Turn on your immersion hand blender and use the low or medium speed setting. Aim to mash the carrots and courgettes first. Keep mashing the food until it's smooth and creamy.
- Let the food rest for a minute. Serve into bowls. Add the chopped parsley leaves and lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (per portion). Mix and you are ready to eat!
Notes
Net carbohydrates per portion: 72g
Protein per portion: 30g
Fibre per portion: 12g (48% RI)
Glycaemic Index: 25 (low)
Glycaemic Load per portion: 17.5
Important micronutrients (per portion):
| Micronutrient | Amount per portion | % Recommended Intake |
| Vitamin C | 40 mg | 50 |
| Vitamin A | 827 ug | 103 |
| Vitamin B1 (thiamin) | 1.1 mg | 96 |
| Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) | 2.7 mg | 46 |
| Vitamin B9 (Folate) | 85 ug | 43 |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin total) | 9.3 mg | 58 |
| Vitamin K1 | 35.9 ug | 48 |
| Vitamin E | 2.1 mg | 18 |
| Manganese | 2 mg | 98 |
| Iron | 8.4 mg | 60 |
| Magnesium | 196 mg | 52 |
| Zinc | 5.2 mg | 52 |
| Phosphorus | 409 mg | 58 |
| Potassium | 1739 mg | 87 |
As always, I am using the Nutritics software for nutrient information!
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