Fakes: Greek Lentil Soup
A humble, easy, and delicious lentil soup
Sign ups for my holiday baking workshop in London on December 8th are live now. We will spend this cozy day baking cookies, sipping hot chocolate (with homemade chocolate marbled marshmallows of course), and embracing the holiday spirit. For more info and to sign up, head here.
I want to thank Anastasia Miari for guest authoring todays newsletter. Anastasia is a journalist and author of several books, including Yiayia, in which she beautifully documents recipes from matriarchs across the Mediterranean and beyond. Today, she will be sharing her own Greek yiayia’s recipe for fakes, a humble, easy, and delicious lentil soup with images by Marco Argüello.
Kalimera to all and a huge thank you to Allegra for virtually hosting me this week. When we decided on a Substack collab and discussed potential recipes for this post, I was stuck as to which Greek recipe I could share with you all, that would truly represent the work I’ve been doing for the past ten years.
Along with a peppering of other ingredients, the journey I’ve been on with Matriarch Eats and my most recent book, Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers has opened my eyes to something distinct about my food culture. Whether it was rolling phyllo for hours with a Yiayia in Thessaloniki or delicately folding hundreds of tiny parcels of dolma in far-flung Kassos, these women welcomed me into their homes and were kind enough to take the time to show me first hand how their dishes were made.
It’s a testament to the Greek concept of Filoxenia and our obsession with hospitality in this country that they would let me - a stranger - into their kitchens to learn their culinary secrets. It nods to the fact that eating in Greece goes beyond a taverna menu. Food culture here is representative of a lifestyle which is inclusive, convivial and welcoming. On being welcomed into the home of a Greek grandmother, koulourakia, cafe and ‘mezedaki’ is ever-present at the table. In Crete I was forced to drink Raki at 10am by 98 year old Yiayia Theocleia. In Ikaria, it was home-made carob liqueur and what felt like an entire meal before we had even begun to prepare lunch.
On my great Greek granny odyssey, I found that Greek food is so much more than moussaka. I discovered stuffed onions from Lesvos, Cycladic fourtalia, Corfiot bourdeto, Cretan Dakos, Watermelon Pie from Milos. Despite its popularity, what people know of Greek cuisine is still fairly limited when considering the breadth and diversity of dishes you can find in homes across our 6000 islands and far too often overlooked mainland. In my book, I delve into my own culinary heritage, exploring Greek cuisine through the matriarchs that know it best. It seems apt then, to share a recipe from my own Yiayia, the inspiration behind it all.
My 89 year old Yiayia Anastasia seems to always have her own second opinion whenever anyone around her sees a doctor. She grew up one of ten children and didn’t see a medical professional until the birth of her first child in Germany. Whenever I refuse a food or drink that she offers she’ll say, ‘Why? Did the doctor order that?’, always delivered with great sarcasm and a grim expression.
Her’s was an upbringing punctuated with tragedy. Siblings died young. Our island of Corfu was occupied by Italians in her formative years and what food they had went to the occupying soldiers first. She learned from a young age that food has the power to heal and has forever put her trust in the land and its produce to remedy.
I make this whenever I’m in need of a pick-me-up, whether it be a cold or a break-up that has driven me to the stove. While garlic has antibiotic properties, it adds an intense kick to this otherwise humble and easy-to-rustle-up lentil soup. Yiayia is quite indignant when I suggest we cut back on the half a bulb she adds to the recipe, so don’t be shy when adding your garlic. We eat ours topped with feta, a side of salty olives and stuffed vine leaf dolmades.
YIAYIA ANASTASIA’S FAKES (LENTIL AND GARLIC SOUP) FROM CORFU
Serves 4
250g brown lentils
1tbsp salt
40ml Extra virgin olive oil
Half an onion, finely chopped
Half a bulb of garlic - finely sliced
½ tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste
Soak your lentils in warm water for at least 30 minutes
Drain the lentils and rinse them under running water in your sieve then add to a pan, covering with fresh water. You want the water to cover the lentils and reach around 1inch above the top of your lentils. Add the salt and bring to a boil.
Now throw in the rest of your ingredients (except the tomato paste) and simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes. With five minutes to go, stir in the tomato paste. If the soup’s still looking a bit watery, simmer for a little longer.
Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
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