In keeping with legend, the king of Athens, Theseus, promised to make a sacrifice of olive branches adorned with fruits to the god Apollo if he succeeded in his mission to kill the Minotaur in Crete (by way of Let’s Eat!). After efficiently doing so, he did certainly cease at Delos to meet his promise to the god however discovered that the detour had brought on the meals provisions on his ships to dwindle. The king and his entourage gathered what was left and turned it right into a soup referred to as fasolada.
Due to the legend, fasolada is regarded as a nutritious meal of the poor, requiring meager components, primarily haricot beans, onions, celery, tomato, and olive oil, in accordance with WiseGeek. Nevertheless, as Let’s Eat! notes, others recommend that fasolada in actuality was a dish invented within the dire occasions of German occupation in Greece when cash was little, meat a uncommon delicacy, and legumes low-cost and plentiful. No matter origin, although, the easy bean soup as we speak is popularly known as the nationwide dish of Greece.
The excessive nutrient content material within the soup — together with iron, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and protein — implies that fasolada is way most well-liked throughout Lent which entails fasting, as Taste Atlas explains. Over time, nonetheless, the soup has turn into a staple a part of Greek delicacies and is eaten frequently with a facet of olives, feta, and a loaf of bread.