Revithada
A soup from the island of Sifnos tied to Sunday: by tradition the pot went into the cooling bread oven on Saturday night, and the soup was eaten on Sunday after church. Long hours at low heat make the chickpeas turn creamy-soft, with some of them collapsing to thicken the liquid with no thickener at all. A handful of simple ingredients is all it takes.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Soaking 720 min
- Preparation 20 min
- Oven 420 min
- Seasoning 10 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSoak the chickpeas with soda
Cover the chickpeas with cold water and a teaspoon of bicarbonate for 12 hours. The soda softens the skins and shortens the cooking — without it even seven hours in the oven may not suffice for hard, old chickpeas.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Doubled in size — ready for the oven.Rinse thoroughly after soaking
Drain and rinse the chickpeas in several changes of water until they stop foaming. The soaking water holds the soda and the compounds that cause wind; left in, it would give the soup a soapy note.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Put everything in the pot at once
Tip the chickpeas into a clay or cast iron pot, add the onion, bay, olive oil and salt and pour in hot water to cover by 2 cm. Nothing is fried here — this is a one-move soup.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Everything at once, water 2 cm above the contents.Bake seven hours at 130°C
Cover and bake 7 hours at 130°C. The low temperature is crucial: the soup barely trembles and the chickpeas soften slowly and evenly. Any hotter and the liquid bubbles, evaporates faster and the chickpeas break up unevenly.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Check after five hours
Look in after 5 hours — if the water has reduced a lot, top up with boiling water. The chickpeas must stay submerged throughout; any exposed on top dry out and harden.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Stop when the chickpeas melt
The soup is ready when the chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance and the liquid is thick and creamy. Remove the bay leaves. The consistency should sit between soup and stew.
Ingredients: 500 g chickpeas · 2 pcs onions · 150 ml olive oil · 3 pcs bay leaves · 1400 ml water · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Creamy liquid with no thickener — that is chickpea starch.Finish with lemon and raw oil
Squeeze a whole lemon into the pot and stir, then grind over pepper. Serve with more lemon, a stream of raw olive oil and bread. The acid is not optional — without it the soup is floury and heavy.
Ingredients: 2 pcs lemons · 4 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp black pepper · 6 pcs country bread
Before you start
The clay pot matters
Sifnos uses a skepastaria — a shallow lidded clay vessel. Clay heats more slowly and evenly than metal. A cast iron pot is the closest substitute; a thin steel pan gives an uneven result.
The hob version
Without an oven, simmer 2–3 hours on the lowest heat, covered, stirring every half hour and topping up with boiling water as needed. It makes a good soup, if less creamy — the even heat of the oven is hard to reproduce on a burner.
Better the next day
Revithada improves overnight and keeps in the fridge for up to four days. It thickens to a paste as it chills — loosen with boiling water and re-season with lemon, as the lemon flavour fades.
