Tastes of Greece: Greek Soups

With the chillier winter afternoons, most of us tend to desire a more cozy environment, the warmth of a fireplace, a hot cup of tea or cocoa, or a bowl of tasty and hot homemade soup. 

A bowl or cup of soup in the American culture is usually considered a starter to a meal. Being that this wonderful country is made of a melting pot of cultures the variety of soups are endless and are available to all of us regardless of season or outdoor temperature. 

If you’ve ever lived or visited Greece though, you’ll not only find a much more limited variety, but there will always be a reason one would order soup. Firstly, to set things straight, Greeks will have their soup as their main meal contrary to a starter. It may take the place of a lunch or dinner entrée. The kind of soup will vary depending the reason you're having soup in the first place. I will explain:

1. When not feeling well with a slight fever, cold, flu symptom, or stomach ache, the instant relief would be a cup of AVGOLEMONO. This is the very well known soup, loved by many, and is a chicken with rice or fideo pasta soup. Another choice is YOUVARLAKIA, a thin lemony, rice and meatball soup. Lastly, TRAHANA, a basic homemade crumbled pasta soup topped with a teaspoon of melted butter, a dash of crumbled feta, and thinly sliced fresh tomatoes.

2. If the weather happens to be  very cold, or you are in one of the many lent or fasting periods of the year try: FASOLADA, a hearty bean, carrot, celery and tomato soup served with fresh bread, Kalamata olives, peperoncini peppers, and fresh bread. Also, FAKI, a hearty lentil soup topped with a dash of wine vinegar, Kalamata olives, and fresh bread. Or, REVITHIA, a garbanzo bean soup prepared in various ways.

3. At the end of Easter lent, at 12 a.m., the night before Easter Sunday, a very traditional soup that everyone in Greece participates in eating at least one spoonful  is MAGIRITSA, a very delicious lamb based broth cooked with scallions, rice, dill.  The traditional recipe calls for the finely chopped internal lamb meats; more modern cuisine uses finely chopped lamb for flavor.

4. And finally, the cure for over consumption of alcohol and prevention of  a hangover after an intense night of Greek entertainment or clubbing would be PATSA, a tripe soup prepared in fine grind or thick with or without tomato and hot chili pepper. Not one of my favorites, I would rather not drink. Or, there is the KREATOSOUPA, a delicious beef consommé with chunks of tender beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and lemon. 

There you have it, the story behind Greek soups. All prepared with much love and simple, down-to-earth ingredients.

How about a cup of soup? Which one is your favorite?