Fakes: A Greek Lentil Soup for the Strictest Fast Days
If fasolada is the soup Greeks name first, fakes is the one they actually cook every week. This humble lentil soup — lentils simmered with tomato, carrot, onion, garlic and bay until the broth turns deep and savoury — asks for almost nothing from the store cupboard and gives back a pot of food that feeds a crowd, reheats beautifully, and freezes for months. It is also the backbone of the Lenten table: on the strict weekdays of the fast, when oil is set aside along with everything else, fakes is what carries a family through.
Many published versions begin by softening the vegetables in olive oil and finish each bowl with another drizzle. That is the oil-day soup. This version is made the strict way: the vegetables sweat in a splash of water, the lentils simmer plainly, and the brightness at the end comes not from oil but from vinegar — the sharp, traditional finish Greek cooks have always splashed over lentils. Nothing about the bowl feels like a compromise.
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb) dried green or brown lentils
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 425 g (15 oz) canned tomatoes, pureed
- 1 tsp dried oregano, or more to taste
- 1 tsp fine salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½–¾ cup rice (optional, to make the soup heartier)
- Red wine vinegar, for serving
Method
- Put the lentils in a large pot, cover generously with water, bring to the boil, then drain and discard the water. This first boil is an old family trick: it keeps the soup light and the lentils easy to digest.
- Return the pot to the heat with a splash of water and sweat the onion and carrots for about 10 minutes, stirring and adding a spoonful of water whenever the pan dries out — on a strict day the vegetables soften in water, not oil. Stir in the garlic for the last minute or two.
- Add the drained lentils, bay leaves, pureed tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour in enough water to cover the lentils by at least 2–3 cm.
- Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are completely tender. Add more water as needed; the soup should stay brothy.
- If you are adding rice, stir it in now with 2 extra cups of water and a pinch more salt, and simmer about 15 minutes more, until the rice is tender.
- Fish out the bay leaves. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and oregano. Serve in deep bowls with a generous splash of vinegar at the table — the traditional finish — and crusty bread alongside.
Rule source: Orthodox fasting rule per the Typikon (chs. 32–33), as published in OCA and GOARCH fasting guidance: on a strict fast day, no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil are eaten.
Notes
- The oil-day version. On a wine-and-oil day, soften the onion and carrots in ¼ cup olive oil instead of water, and let each person drizzle a little more oil over their bowl. Same soup, different level of the fast — a separately-tagged preparation, not a footnote cheat.
- The first boil matters. Draining the lentils' first water is the step Greek home cooks swear by for a lighter soup. Don't skip it.
- Rice, today or tomorrow. Many families cook the soup plain on day one and stir rice into the leftovers on day two — it turns the same pot into a second, heartier meal.
- No feta here. A chunk of feta on the side is a beloved non-fasting accompaniment; it has no place in this strict-day version and is deliberately left out (and out of the photo).
- Storage. Keeps 4–5 days in the fridge; freezes up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
Can I eat fakes on a strict fast day?
Yes — as made here. There is no oil at any stage, and no meat, dairy, egg, fish or wine. The vinegar finish is a condiment, not wine, and is the traditional way lentils are served on fast days.
Why drain the first boiling water?
It removes the compounds that make lentil soup heavy and hard to digest, and keeps the broth clean-tasting. It is the classic Greek method.
Can I make it without rice?
Yes — the rice is optional. Without it the soup is lighter and more brothy; with it, it becomes a meal in itself. ---
