The Greek Food

The Greek Food
  • Home
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Easter in Greece
  • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Traditional
    • Seafood
    • Salads
    • Desserts
    • Soup
    • Sauces
    • Special
    • Meat Recipes
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Lamb
      • Pork
    • Photos
  • Ingredients
    • Feta
    • Bread
    • Olives
    • Yogurt
    • Wines
    • Herbs and Spices
    • Ouzo
  • Glossary
  • About
⁄ SEARCH

Patsa Soup Recipe

Dec 5, 2012 28 min read In: Soup By: The Chef 2 Comments
Patsa Soup Recipe

Patsa Soup Recipe

Dec 5, 2012 28 min read In: Soup By: The Chef 2 Comments

Always people are asking me to put more traditional recipes in this blog and talk about Greek food, and history and bla bla bla… Well, you know I really want that more than anything else, but its not so damn easy.

Most of the times it has nothing to do with the complexity of the dishes but mainly with the amount of effort that you have to make in order to cook each dish. So, you want something traditional? That is as traditional as it gets in Greece and it is a dish that is almost close to become extinct on the taverns of Greece and those of Athens and Thessaloniki especially. Its called…..(drumming) ….PATSAS!!! (the crowd goes wild!!!)

Patsas is basically a soup from pork leg and pork belly, the parts of the pork that very few want to eat. To be honest doing a little bit of research you can do it also with beef or lamb, depending on your taste but..my mother said pork, and pork we will cook today!

In the Balkan region of Europe, there are different versions of this soup depending where you go and I remember for example when I first went to Poland and tried the local Flaczki, the first thing that came to mind was patsas and basically it had many similarities.

In Greece and basically in Athens, Patsas had the fame of the “after” food for all the drunken people that had partied before on the local bars with live Greek music.  The reason is that it is a really strong soup that can relax your stomach and make you feel great the next day rather than have a big hangover.  Well, trust me on this one…the rumors were right!

I remember once when I was working as a waiter in a local beer restaurant in Athens, we were invited out by our manager after work as he had his birthday.  To be honest, I don’t remember much of that night (it’s a lie I remember but im ashamed to say) but what I remember clearly was us ending up at 5 o clock in a local patsatsidiko as they call them (tavern that serves only patsas) where i ate the soup and thought it had a divine taste that time.

patsa soup recipe

There are some negatives despite that which you should have in your mind. The smell while you are cooking it is really bad, so make sure that you have a lot of windows open. Also, it does take a lot of time, so you need to have it prepared. Its one of those things that if you know you will get out and try a lot of Ouzo shots that night.  If you pass all that, then you will be rewarded with one of the most famous soups of Greek cuisine.


HOW TO MAKE PATSA SOUP

INGREDIENTS

  • 500gr of pork belly
  • 500-600gr of pork leg (chopped in 3-4 pieces)
  • 2 lemons
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 small chilli pepper

METHOD

  • Well, first we need to wash the meat and cut the pork belly on really small cubes. Ideally we would like the butcher to cut the pork leg on 3-4 pieces so it can fit on the pot. Fill in the pot with water, add the meat inside it and bring to a boil and keep it there for 15 mins. Then remove it from the heat, and throw away the water keeping –of cource- the meat.
Patsas in the pot
Our patsas is getting ready
  • Clear the pot and then add again new water, bring it to a boil and add again the meat. That is being done in order to remove any smells from the pork and clean the meat.
  • Keep it boiling for 2 to 3 hours. Ideally what you want to see is the meat from the pork leg to get soft and slowly being removed from the bone. After 1-2 hours when you notice that then you should remove the pork legs with a deep scoop and with a knife try to remove the meat from the bones. Don’t worry it should be really easy to do it.
  • Put the meat back inside without the bone now and add salt , pepper, the juice from 2 lemons and the chilli peppers. Stir so it can go everywhere and continue boiling it for 30-40 min. Test that the pork belly is soft and its ready!

As much as tasty the soup can be…it is a real pain to clean afterwards the pot. So make sure you arrange beforehand on who will cook the patsa and who will clean everything afterwards!

Summary
recipe image
Recipe Name
Patsa Soup Recipe
Published On
2012-12-05
Average Rating
41star1star1star1stargray Based on 25 Review(s)
  • Holidays in Greece and…Moussaka

    Holidays in Greece and…Moussaka

    Sep 4, 2012
  • Greek Meatballs…or Giouvarlakia

    Greek Meatballs…or Giouvarlakia

    Nov 13, 2012
  • “Tigania” Pork with leeks

    “Tigania” Pork with leeks

    Jul 26, 2012

2 Comments

  1. Name 1 year ago Reply

    I love the way you described the whole process – it’s simple, practical and so funny. I can almost see you and hear you! 😀 I’ve been living in Greece for so many years and just wanted to try making patsa for the very first time. Love it, by the way…. drunk or not. Thank you! Trying it out now!

  2. Glenn 11 months ago Reply

    First tried patsas about 4 AM in an Athenian patsasidiko after a lot of beer and dancing in a popular bar called Bobby’s south of Paleo Faliron. I fell in love with this heartily delicious soup ( or maybe I was just too drunk to mind the smell). That particular patsasidikio ( quite popular with the locals) became one of my favourite last stops before returning to the ship.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

  • Recent Posts

    • Greek sausage and beans recipe for all seasons
    • Chicken with Okra in the oven
    • How to make easter bread – Tsoureki
    • The oldest company in Greece
    • Trahana soup with Feta cheese and tomato! (and more…)
  • Seasonal

    giouvetsi

    Giouvetsi with Beef

    Giouvetsi is an old Greek recipe that Greeks used to do in the oven. As years went there were some small changes in the recipe but the essentials remained the same….and the taste of course. Read More about “Giouvetsi with Beef”…

  • Greek Tradition

    Soutzoukakia Smyrneika

    Soutzoukakia Smyrneika – Greek Meatballs with Red Sauce

    Well, the following is a recipe that comes from Asia Minor and Ismir, or Smirni as they used to call the city. It’s the Greek way to make meatballs with red sauce and it’s called Soutzoukakia Smyrneika. Read More about “Soutzoukakia Smyrneika – Greek Meatballs with Red Sauce”…

  • Easy to make summer recipes

    Pasta with tzatziki sauce

    Pasta with Tzatziki

The Greek Food
Copyright © 2014 TheGreekFood
⁄ SEARCH