Greek Soups · The Mainland · Boiled and Simmered · Lent and Nistisima
Greek Lentil Soup with Vinegar (Fakes)
Φακές fah-KES · Fakes
In short
Fakes is a Greek soup of brown lentils simmered with onion, garlic, bay and tomato, finished with a generous amount of olive oil. A splash of red wine vinegar is added to each bowl at the table, not to the pot.
Lentil Soup with Vinegar
- Prep
- 12m
- Cook
- 55m
- Total
- 1h 7m
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Beginner
Ingredients
Ingredients
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Method
- 01Rinse the lentils and pick through them for any small stones. Put them in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain and discard the water.
- 02Heat half the olive oil in a large pot and cook the onions gently for 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for 3 minutes more.
Onion - 03Return the drained lentils to the pot with the bay leaves and the 1.5 litres of fresh water. Bring to a simmer.
- 04Cook gently, part covered, for 30 minutes. Do not salt yet.
Salt - 05Once the lentils are tender, stir in the tomato puree, the chopped tomatoes and the oregano. Season generously with salt and pepper now.
- 06Simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the soup has thickened and the flavours have come together. Add a little hot water if it gets too thick.
- 07Take off the heat. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the remaining raw olive oil.
Bay Leaf - 08Let it stand for 10 minutes. Serve with a jug of red wine vinegar on the table for people to add to their own bowls, along with bread, olives and feta.Vinegar at the table.Yiayia
Nutrition, per 1 bowl
- Calories
- 412
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Sat fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 18 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Fakes and fasolada are the two soups that fed Greece, and between them they cover most of the fasting calendar. Fakes is the quicker of the two, because lentils need no soaking and are done inside an hour.
It is austere on paper: lentils, onion, garlic, bay, a little tomato, and a great deal of olive oil. What lifts it is the vinegar, which goes into the bowl rather than the pot, so everyone adds their own and the sharpness stays bright rather than cooking away.
Greeks eat it with olives, bread, and often a piece of salt fish or feta on the side. It is the definition of cheap food that is genuinely good rather than merely filling.
Key preparation steps
- Boil the lentils briefly and drain that first water away.
- Simmer with aromatics and a lot of olive oil until soft.
- Add tomato and salt only once the lentils are tender.
- Finish with raw oil, and add vinegar at the table.
Which lentils?
Small brown or green lentils, which hold their shape while going creamy at the edges. Greek shops sell them simply as fakes. Puy lentils work and stay firmer.
Red or split lentils do not work here. They collapse completely into a puree, which is a different and perfectly nice soup but not fakes.
No soaking required. A rinse and a check for stones is all they need.
Why drain the first water?
Bring the lentils to the boil in plain water, boil for five minutes, then drain and start again with fresh water. It is a traditional step and worth keeping.
It removes some of the compounds that cause digestive discomfort and gives a cleaner-tasting, less muddy soup. It also lets you skim off anything that floats.
Do not salt either water. Salt early toughens lentil skins and slows the cooking considerably.
How much olive oil, and when
At least 100 ml for six servings, split between the pot and the finish. Fakes is a ladera dish and the oil is the body of the soup.
Half goes in with the vegetables at the start and cooks down into the base. The other half goes in raw at the end, off the heat, which keeps the fresh peppery character that cooking drives off.
A soup made with a tablespoon of oil will be thin and taste of boiled lentils. This is the single most common way people are disappointed by it.
Why the vinegar goes in the bowl
Vinegar boiled in a pot for half an hour loses its edge and turns flat and slightly sour. Added to the bowl at the table it stays sharp and lifts everything.
Put a small jug of red wine vinegar on the table and let people add their own, which is how it is done in Greece. A teaspoon per bowl is a normal starting point.
Some households cook a splash into the pot as well, at the very end. That is fine, but the bowl is where the important addition happens.
What matters in this dish
Salt only when tender
Salt added early toughens lentil skins and can add twenty minutes to the cooking time for no benefit.
Thicken by crushing
If the soup is thinner than you want, crush a ladleful of lentils against the side of the pot and stir them back in.
Vinegar at the table
Boiled vinegar goes flat. A jug on the table lets everyone sharpen their own bowl, which is how Greeks eat it.
Questions people ask about Fakes
Why do Greeks put vinegar in lentil soup?
The acidity cuts the earthiness of the lentils and the richness of the olive oil. It is added to the individual bowl rather than the pot, because boiling vinegar for half an hour flattens it.
Do you need to soak lentils for fakes?
No. Brown and green lentils cook in about 45 minutes without soaking. A rinse and a quick check for stones is all they need.
Is fakes vegan?
Yes, entirely. It is one of the staple dishes of the Orthodox fasting calendar and contains no animal products.
Can you freeze Greek lentil soup?
Yes, for up to three months. It thickens considerably in the freezer, so loosen it with hot water when reheating and add a fresh pour of olive oil.
