Ingredients
Peas
- 400 gyellow split peas
- rinsed and picked over
- about 1.5 litres water
The pot
- 2onions, chopped
- 3 tablespoonsolive oil
- 1bay leaf
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- black pepper
To finish
- juice of 2 lemons
- 4 tablespoonsolive oil
- a good one, for drizzling
- 1onion, sliced very thin
- or fried onion
To serve
- bread
- olives
- raw onion
- during Lent
Directions
- Rinse the split peas in cold water. Pick out any stones or dark grains. Rinse them until the water runs clear. Drain them all very thoroughly. Split peas need no soaking at all.
- Put the split peas in a large pot. Add the water and the bay leaf. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Skim off the grey foam as it rises. Keep skimming for the first ten minutes.
- Cover it partly and let it cook. Give it about forty-five minutes. Stir it now and then as it goes. Stir right into the corners each time. Lower the heat if it starts to stick. Heat the olive oil in a separate pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Let them soften and turn golden.
- Tip the onions into the split peas. Stir them all through thoroughly. Add the salt and black pepper. Add the salt once the peas are soft. Let it simmer for fifteen more minutes.
- Stir it regularly right throughout. Judging the soup takes a taste. Add hot water if it is too thick. Simmer it uncovered if it is too thin. Leave it looser than you want it. Reheated leftovers need real thinning. Take the pot right off the heat. Squeeze in all of the lemon juice.
- Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Two whole lemons is not too much. Add more of it if it tastes flat. Slice the onion as thinly as you can. Soak it in cold water for ten minutes.
- Drain it thoroughly afterwards. Cold water draws out the harshest compounds. Ladle the soup into deep bowls. Pour good olive oil generously over each. Scatter the thin raw onion over it. Use the best oil you have for it. Serve fresh bread alongside it. It keeps four days refrigerated.
Technique
- The atlas tags list lentil, but yellow split peas are what is used and they are a different pulse; the recipe follows split peas accordingly.
- Lemon goes in generously but only at the end, since acid slows the softening of pulses and adding it early keeps them firm; the same applies to the salt, which goes in once the peas have collapsed.
- Greek Orthodox fasting excludes meat, dairy, eggs and fish, and olive oil as well on strict days; louvana is made without oil for those and with it for other fasting days, a distinction observed carefully. The good oil is poured raw over each bowl at the table rather than stirred into the pot.
Substitutions
- Yellow split peas carry no significant lectin risk and need no hard preliminary boil.
- Fried onion in place of raw gives a sweeter finish.
Variations
- Some cooks blend it completely smooth and others leave it as it collapses.
- It is made without olive oil on strict fasting days.
- Louvia, the black-eyed peas with chard, is the other Cypriot fasting standard.
History
Cypriot fasting food eaten during Lent, when meat and dairy are avoided for weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is Louvana?
Louvana is a soup & stew from Cyprus: thick yellow split pea soup with lemon and olive oil, a Lenten dish. Cypriot fasting food eaten during Lent, when meat and dairy are avoided for weeks.
How long does Louvana take to make?
Louvana takes 10 minutes of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Louvana?
Yes, within limits. Yellow split peas carry no significant lectin risk and need no hard preliminary boil. Fried onion in place of raw gives a sweeter finish.
What is the most important thing to get right in Louvana?
Greek Orthodox fasting excludes meat, dairy, eggs and fish, and olive oil as well on strict days; louvana is made without oil for those and with it for other fasting days, a distinction observed carefully. The good oil is poured raw over each bowl at the table rather than stirred into the pot.
