Chef Dimitra
Aegean Islands Chtapodi Xidato (Χταπόδι Ξιδάτο)
From the Aegean islands, this is the Lenten octopus: simmered slowly without added water, sliced while tender, and steeped in vinegar, oregano, and its own dark cooking liquor.
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Mount Athos Tahinosoupa (Αγιορείτικη Ταχινόσουπα)
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Mount Athos tahinosoupa is an oil-free Lenten soup of tahini, lemon, and orzo, plain enough for Holy Week and rich enough to comfort without a drop of oil.
Soups & Stews
Greek
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Mount Athos tahinosoupa is a monk's soup from the fasting table: tahini whisked into lemony broth with kritharaki, the small Greek orzo that makes it filling without making it heavy. No oil, no butter, no egg. Just sesame, lemon, water, and patience.
The whole soup depends on how you add the tahini. Whisk it first with lemon and hot broth until it loosens, then return it to the pot off the heat. Let it boil hard and it separates into a rough, bitter-looking broth. Treat it gently and it turns silky, almost like avgolemono, but entirely nistisimo, fit for the strict fast.
I like this dish because it refuses decoration. Λίγα και καλά: a few things, and good ones. Use tahini that smells fresh and sweet, not dusty, and squeeze the lemon yourself. The region is the dish's surname here too, and on Athos the surname is monastic restraint.
Tahinosoupa belongs to the Orthodox fasting repertoire, especially the oil-free days of Great Lent and Holy Week, when sesame tahini gives body to soup without dairy, egg, or olive oil. The Athonite version from Mount Athos in Halkidiki is tied to monastery kitchens, where frugality and the church calendar shaped a deep nistisimo cuisine. Small pasta or rice made the soup sustaining enough for workdays without breaking the fast.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
water or light vegetable broth
Quantity
1.4L
orzo (kritharaki)
Quantity
120g
tahini
Quantity
180g
well stirred
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
80ml
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tsp
plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 tsp
lemon peel (optional)
Quantity
1 strip
yellow part only
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| water or light vegetable broth | 1.4L |
| orzo (kritharaki) | 120g |
| tahiniwell stirred | 180g |
| fresh lemon juice | 80ml |
| fine sea saltplus more to taste | 1 tsp |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 tsp |
| lemon peel (optional)yellow part only | 1 strip |
Equipment Needed
- •heavy medium saucepan, 3L
- •balloon whisk
Instructions
- 1
Boil the broth
Bring the water or light vegetable broth to a steady boil in a medium pot. Add the salt and the lemon peel if you're using it. Keep the broth plain. This is a fasting soup, and the restraint is the point.
- 2
Cook the orzo
Stir in the kritharaki and cook until just tender, usually 9 to 11 minutes. Stir often near the end so it doesn't settle and catch on the bottom. Pull out the lemon peel.
- 3
Loosen the tahini
While the orzo cooks, whisk the tahini and lemon juice in a bowl. It will tighten first and look stubborn. Add 250ml hot broth, one small ladle at a time, whisking until the tahini turns pale, smooth, and pourable.
- 4
Finish off heat
Take the pot off the heat. Pour the loosened tahini mixture back into the soup slowly, whisking as you pour. Tahini splits when it meets a hard boil, so this is the one method that decides the dish: off the heat, slowly, until the broth turns silky instead of grainy.
If the soup looks too thick after resting, whisk in a splash of hot water. Orzo keeps drinking. - 5
Season and serve
Taste for salt and lemon. Add the black pepper and serve at once, while the surface is glossy and the orzo is still tender. It should be lemony, nutty, and quiet, the kind of bowl that belongs to Holy Week.
Chef Tips
- •Buy tahini made from sesame only, with no sugar or flavoring. Stir the jar well before measuring, because the paste sinks and the oil rises.
- •Do not reboil the finished soup. Warm leftovers gently and whisk in hot water as needed, since the orzo thickens the broth as it sits.
- •Serve it with olives, bread, and a plate of boiled greens with lemon. That is a real fasting table, not a compromise.
Advance Preparation
- •Stir the tahini before you begin so it is smooth and ready.
- •The soup is best eaten as soon as it is made, but leftovers keep 1 day chilled and need hot water when reheated gently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 420g)
Calories
385 calories
Total Fat
25 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
21 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
630 mg
Total Carbohydrates
34 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
12 g
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