What is Grah Varivo?
Grah varivo is a thick bean soup and a weekly staple in most Croatian homes.
This classic is beloved all around the country, so we have different local names for the same dish. Grah and bažul on the continent equal fažol on the Croatian coast.
There is nothing heartier than a bowl of bean soup Croatian style. It is brilliant as a Friday fast (if you cook it without the meat), but it also makes a fabulous feast for large groups of people.
Because of its high nutrient content, a pot of beans can feed a family on the cheap. But even in its most modest version, grah varivo is cooked with a sliver of smoked meat or just a bone to deepen its flavor.
Today, we usually pair a bowl of beans with a sausage.
Ingredients for Authentic Croatian Grah
You need three components to cook a flavorful pot of beans. First, there is a medley of vegetables that give grah varivo its aroma. Beans are the star ingredient, which creates bulk and texture. Finally, we need a small piece of smoked meat for that irresistible oomph.
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Essential Vegetables
Before I give you the list of vegetables you need for our beans soup, let me teach you a great Croatian word: grincajg. It means a medley of soup vegetables.
Granted, we adapted grincajg from the German word Grünzeug. The meaning is the same: green vegetables for cooking vegetable stock.
If you buy a grincajg, you are almost set to cook Croatian grah. So, set aside your carrots, onion, and garlic. Add to this list two small potatoes, some tomato paste and bay leaves.
Bean Types in Croatian Cuisine
Even though Croatians adore grah, we don’t cook with many varieties. Three types of beans are all you need to master our grah recipes.
The most widespread is our grah trešnjevac (cranberry bean). It’s medium-sized and has purple specs on lightly-colored skin. You might also know it as Borlotti bean.
Trešnjevac or trešnjar is incredibly versatile. It goes into grah varivo, bean salad, and other Croatian bean soup variations. The best part? You can cook with it while still fresh from the pod. This ‘young grah’ is sweet, tender, and seductively mellow.
Two other types of beans include white butter beans and an heirloom variety called zelenček.
White beans are usually associated with the Macedonian grah tetovac. This type is pearl white, large, and meaty. Its buttery texture creates a perfect bean salad or a bean and vegetable casserole.
Zelenček is the smallest of all varieties. Its light-green color turns white when cooked. This little bean is super mellow and can live up to just about any grah recipe.
Browse more authentic Croatian recipes.
Tips for selecting and preparing beans for Grah Varivo
Croatian bean soup is usually made with trešnjevac. But don’t hurry to buy cans of Borlotti beans just yet. If there’s one thing that makes grah so irresistible, it’s how we cook it.
Dry beans must be soaked overnight. You’ll notice that they double in volume by the next day. When you cook grah from scratch, the beans add texture to the soup.
They release their starch and thicken the soup around them as they cook. Now the pot of beans is sturdier both in structure and taste.
Difference between dry and soaked beans.
Remember, soak your beans the night before to cook Croatian bean soup.
The Role of Smoked Meats
A traditional pot of Croatian grah always comes with a sliver of smoked meat. It’s not about eating meat on the side, but what meat imparts to the pot.
Incorporating Smoked Meats for Added Depth and Flavor
In the old days, when meat was scarce, grah was cooked with a bone. Or a sliver of pancetta. Or with just skin from the pancetta. You see the point? Home cooks looked for a way to give beans soup its signature smokey flavor.
No matter how modest the meat (or bone) component was, it was crucial to create a robust dish. The beans brought bulk and nutrition to the table, the meat seduced with its aroma. This is the allure of the Croatia grah recipe.
Traditional Choices and Modern Alternatives
What gives grah its smokiness? It can be something as little as a slice of speck or pancetta. A piece of chewy skin from a slice of speck that you can’t even eat. A prosciutto bone. These are all traditional ways of ramping up the flavor.
If you cook beans with smoked ribs, there will be a morsel of meat for everyone to eat on the side.
Nowadays, the most popular grah recipe includes sausage. You will see ‘grah s kobasicom’ as a dish in many restaurants and mountain huts. This version of grah is served either with a whole sausage per person. Or you’ll get several sausage slices floating in your bowl of beans.
Learn more about Croatian sausages.
Grah Recipe Variations
How come we eat so much grah and never get bored with it? Well, here’s the secret. Beans soup comes in many variations.
The basic grah recipe is the same; we just add a vegetable or a carb to spruce up our bowl. Here are the most popular recipes based on grah varivo.
Jota
Jota is a thick bean soup with sauerkraut. The word jota is widespread in Istria, but the dish is popular throughout Croatia. We also call it grah i zelje.
Here is my recipe for the wonderful Istrian Jota.
Pašta Fažol
Pašta fažol is grah varivo with an addition of small pasta. In essence, it’s a Croatian version of the Italian pasta e fagiole.
Try my delicious Pašta Fažol recipe, straight from my Grandma's kitchen.
Grah i Kaša
The heartiest of all grah variations, this bean soup is fortified with barley. It’s a beans and barley soup with a smokey meat flavor. Depending on the region, we call it grah i kaša or grah i ričet.
Tips for Leftover Grah
You followed my advice to cook grah for a big feast, but what do you do with leftovers? It sounds wild, but I honestly think leftover grah varivo is a contradiction in terms.
Beans will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. And, if you have a Croatian knack for grah, you won’t get bored with the taste.
There is no need to refry it or do anything fancy with what’s left in the pot. Just make sure to pop it in the fridge at the optimal time.
Wait for 1-2 hours until the beans have cooled down to room temperature. Put the lid on and leave your grah varivo in the fridge.
Now you have lunch for a few days to come.
Step-by-Step Cooking Process
Ready, steady, let's cook Croatian grah varivo.
Croatian Grah Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g dry beans (Cranberry or Borlotti variety) (1 lb)
- 2.5 l cups water (10 ½)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp lard/butter
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 2 small potatoes (cubed)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 300 g lb smoked meat (pork ribs or sausages) (0.6)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- salt, pepper, sweet paprika (to taste)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
Instructions
- Soak the dry beans in about 3 l (13 cups) of water overnight or at least for 4-5 hours.
- The following day, rinse the beans, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Strain immediately.
- Heat the lard or butter and sauté the onion to dark golden. Add the carrots and potatoes, and continue sautéing for a few more minutes; then throw in the garlic.
- Lastly, add the beans and pour 2.5 l of fresh water over everything. Put the meat in too. Season with salt and bay leaves. Cook on low heat for at least 1.5 hours.
- Take 1 cup of mostly potatoes, some beans and the cooking liquid, place in a separate bowl and blend to a smooth paste. This paste will thicken your beans soup instead of a roux. Pour the paste back into the pot.
- Season with tomato paste, sweet paprika, pepper and more salt if needed.
- Serve in a bowl with a slice of bread. To add a signature Croatian touch, include sliced onion and/or pickled peppers as a side dish.
