Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Kakavia (Κακαβιά)
Aegean kakavia is the fisherman’s soup named for the pot itself: small rockfish, potato, onion, lemon, and enough olive oil to turn a poor catch rich.
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Revithada Sifnou (Ρεβιθάδα Σίφνου)
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Revithada Sifnou is the Cycladic Sunday pot: chickpeas, onion, bay, olive oil, and low heat until the broth turns creamy without cream. Lemon wakes it at the table.
Soups & Stews
Greek
Make Ahead
Comfort Food
One Pot
20 min
Active Time
8 hr 30 min cook•20 hr 50 min total
Yield6 servings
Revithada Sifnou is Sifnos's Sunday chickpea soup, baked instead of boiled, plain enough to make a careless cook underestimate it. Chickpeas, onion, bay, olive oil, water, and at the end lemon. That's all. The region is the dish's surname here, because the Sifnian pot and the low oven are not decoration. They are the method.
The one thing that decides it is the covered, slow bake. Keep the heat low for hours, preferably overnight, and the chickpeas soften without collapsing into mud. The onion melts into the broth, the oil rounds it, and the soup becomes silky without a spoonful of cream. Hurry it and you lose the sweetness.
On Sifnos, the old rhythm was Saturday evening to the wood oven, Sunday after church to the table. In my Thessaloniki kitchen, a Dutch oven does the work if the clay skepastaria isn't there. I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down, so the cook who has never seen that island pot can still make the island's soup.
Revithada Sifnou belongs to Sifnos in the Cyclades, an island with a long ceramic tradition that made the skepastaria, the lidded clay pot, part of the dish's identity. Families traditionally sealed chickpeas, onion, bay, oil, and water in the pot and left it Saturday night in the communal bread oven's falling heat for Sunday after church. Because it contains no animal products, it also sits naturally inside the Orthodox fasting table, where pulses carry the meal.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried chickpeas (ρεβίθια / revithia)
Quantity
500g
rinsed and soaked 12 hours
cool water
Quantity
3L
for soaking
baking soda (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for older chickpeas during soaking, then rinsed away
yellow onions
Quantity
250g
finely chopped
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
120ml, plus 2 tablespoons
for baking and finishing
dried bay leaves
Quantity
2
hot water
Quantity
1.6L
for the pot, plus more if needed
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g
plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
60ml
for finishing, plus wedges for serving
all-purpose flour and water seal (optional)
Quantity
100g flour + 60ml water
mixed into a stiff paste for a loose clay lid
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried chickpeas (ρεβίθια / revithia)rinsed and soaked 12 hours | 500g |
| cool waterfor soaking | 3L |
| baking soda (optional)for older chickpeas during soaking, then rinsed away | 1/2 teaspoon |
| yellow onionsfinely chopped | 250g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oilfor baking and finishing | 120ml, plus 2 tablespoons |
| dried bay leaves | 2 |
| hot waterfor the pot, plus more if needed | 1.6L |
| fine sea saltplus more to taste | 10g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fresh lemon juicefor finishing, plus wedges for serving | 60ml |
| all-purpose flour and water seal (optional)mixed into a stiff paste for a loose clay lid | 100g flour + 60ml water |
Equipment Needed
- •lidded clay skepastaria or 5L heavy Dutch oven
- •rimmed baking sheet, at least 30 x 40cm, to catch any seepage
- •small bowl for flour paste seal, if using a loose clay lid
Instructions
- 1
Soak the chickpeas
Rinse the chickpeas and cover them with 3L cool water by at least 8cm. Soak 12 hours. If the chickpeas are old or stubborn, stir the baking soda into the soaking water, but rinse them very well the next day until the water runs clear.
Buy chickpeas from a shop with turnover. Old dried beans can look innocent and still refuse the pot. - 2
Set the pot
Drain the chickpeas and put them in a lidded clay skepastaria, the Sifnian covered clay pot, or a 5L heavy Dutch oven. Add the onions, bay leaves, 120ml olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1.6L hot water. The water should cover the chickpeas by 3 to 4cm. Stir once.
- 3
Seal and start
If your lid is loose, mix the flour and water into a stiff paste and press it around the lid. For unglazed clay, place the pot in a cold oven and set it to 150°C. For enamel or metal, preheat to 150°C first. Bake for 1 hour, until the pot has found a bare, gentle bubble.
- 4
Bake overnight
Lower the oven to 120°C and bake 7 to 8 hours, without opening the pot for the first 5 hours. The closed, low oven is the dish. The chickpeas soften slowly, the onion disappears, and the broth turns pale gold and lightly creamy from the bean itself. Rush it on the stovetop and you get chickpeas floating in water. Bake it slowly and you get revithada.
After 5 hours, check only if you must. If the liquid has fallen below the chickpeas, add hot water 250ml at a time. - 5
Finish with lemon
Break the flour seal if you used one and lift off the lid. Remove the bay leaves. Stir gently, crushing a spoonful of chickpeas against the side of the pot if you want a thicker broth. Taste for salt, then add the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil off the heat. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- 6
Serve simply
Ladle the revithada into deep bowls with plenty of broth. Serve warm with lemon wedges, good bread, olives, or raw onion. Nothing rich belongs here. It is Sifnos, chickpeas, oil, lemon, and patience.
Chef Tips
- •Use the freshest dried chickpeas you can find. If they are still wrinkled and hard after soaking, they are telling you their age. Baking soda in the soak can help, but rinse it away well or it leaves a flat taste.
- •A clay pot gives the old Sifnian character, but don't make theatre of it. A heavy Dutch oven with a tight lid gives a good home version. The low covered bake matters more than the object on your shelf.
- •Lemon goes in after the chickpeas are tender. Add it early and the skins stay firmer than they should. This is the small discipline that keeps the bowl soft and deep.
- •Revithada is nistisimi, fasting food, so don't enrich it with meat stock or cheese. Bread, olives, raw onion, and lemon are enough. Λίγα και καλά.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the chickpeas 12 hours before cooking; if your kitchen is warm, refrigerate them after the first few hours.
- •For a Sunday midday meal, set the pot in the oven late Saturday evening and let it rest before serving.
- •Revithada reheats well the next day. Warm it gently with a splash of hot water and add fresh lemon only after reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
535 calories
Total Fat
28 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
15 g
Sugars
11 g
Protein
18 g
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