Jani Me Fasule – Albanian White Bean Soup

Instead of an Italian, Serbian or Greek version for a white bean soup, I would love to show you a recipe of a country situated in the middle of these three: Albania. Jani me Fasule is a rich, healthy, and hearty Albanian white bean soup, packed full of flavor and so easy to make. As I like to make it “compact” it is almost like a stew and for sure doesn’t leave you hungry. Add a piece of bread, and a wonderful meal is made.

My personal connection to this soup is, that we ate it several times during our holidays in Albania. Not sure if it was always vegan … even if we asked. Sometimes we could taste the butter in the pasta or got pasta with tomato sauce but with cream inside the sauce. Yes, they have a lot of pasta, actually a very good one, as there is a strong Italian influence in the kitchen. Unfortunately, veganism isn’t very popular over there (yet). But we got delicious food, in the hope, it was always plant-based … However: This Jani me Fasule recipe is vegan for 100%.

Holidays in Albania

Have you ever been to Albania? I still get enthusiastic when I think back on our trip in 2018. It was one of my best holidays ever. Albania is way much better than its reputation. We saw so many beautiful places – mountains, rivers, cities and incredibly beautiful beaches! We wanted to go back and visit again in June 2020. I already made a plan for a beautiful trip to Albania, including Italy, Montenegro, and Bosnia. We all know what happened then (I just say Corona …). Hope to make this trip soon! In the meantime let’s get a bit of holiday feeling on the plate with this Albanian white bean soup.

Souper delicious: If you love a good soup, be sure to have a look at my other recipes.

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Yield: 4-5 plates

Jani Me Fasule - Albanian White Bean Soup (vegan)

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Jani me Fasule - Albanian white bean soup, is a treat, not only but especially in winter. This rich soup is packed full of flavor but so easy to make.

Ingredients

• 250 g (8.8 oz or a bit less than 1,5 cups) dry white beans (small- to medium-sized ones)
• 1 onion
• ½ red bell pepper
• 1 small carrot
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
• 1.5 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1.25 l (5 cups) of vegetable stock - or same amount water & 2 tbsp (homemade) vegetable stock powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the beans overnight, rinse them and cook them in unsalted water until soft. This takes more or less than an hour, depending on the beans. 
2. Finely chop the onion, bell pepper, and carrot.
3. Heat olive oil in a pot and sauté the veggies on low to medium heat until they are soft and the onions are translucent.
4. Then add the tomato paste, oregano, and paprika powder. Stir. 
5. Next add the flour, stir, and cook for about 1 minute.
6. Now it’s time to add the vegetable stock powder, water, the bay leaf as well as salt and some pepper. Also, add the beans at this point.
7. Cook for about 30 minutes and maybe season with pepper and some more salt. 
8. Serve with some fresh bread. 

Notes

If you can’t finish the soup all at once: It tastes even better on the next day