Trahana Soup with Greek Yogurt & Roasted Red Peppers

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I’ve always loved trahana — that tiny, fermented Greek grain made from milk or yogurt and cracked wheat. It’s one of the world’s oldest comfort foods. I fed it to my kids because it was fast and nourishing, and years later my daughter called me from New York asking where she could buy trahana — that’s how deep these foods stay with us. When I spoke with Dr. Theoklis Zaoutis for this episode, he reminded me that the gut is actually our biggest immune organ and that fermented foods help “train” it to stay in balance. This soup is very much in that spirit: Greek, simple, and naturally probiotic. Here I brighten it with roasted red pepper and a little fermented (black) garlic, then finish it with Greek yogurt for another layer of live cultures.

Course soup

Cuisine Greek

Keyword Diane Kochilas, Diane Kochilas, Diane Kochilas recipes, retsina, My Greek Table, Greek shrimp recipes, Greek seafood recipes,, Greek Comfort Food, Greek yogurt soup, Mediterranean diet, probiotic Greek food, Trahana soup, trahanas

PREP TIME 10 minutes

COOK TIME 20 minutes

TIME 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 cup trahana sweet or sour
4 –5 cups vegetable stock more as needed
1 roasted red pepper pureed
1 tsp finely chopped fermented/black garlic or regular garlic if you can’t find it
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
Pinch hot pepper or a few drops hot sauce optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
Thick Greek yogurt for topping
Extra olive oil and fresh oregano leaves for garnish

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5–7 minutes, until softened.
Add the garlic and stir briefly. Add the trahana and toast 1–2 minutes.
Add the stock and simmer, stirring often, 10–12 minutes, until the trahana softens into a creamy porridge. Add more liquid if it gets too thick.
Stir in the roasted red pepper, fermented garlic, oregano, and optional hot pepper. Simmer 3–5 minutes more.
Season with salt, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Serve hot, topped with a spoonful of Greek yogurt thinned with a little lemon and olive oil, plus fresh oregano.

Notes

This is a great example of how Greek food has always supported gut health without calling it that. Trahana is fermented. Greek yogurt is full of beneficial bacteria. Extra virgin olive oil helps everything along. As Dr. Zaoutis said, diet is one of the main ways we can support the microbiome over time — and this is a very tasty way to do it.

Related Recipes and Articles:
What is Trahana, the World’s Oldest Fast Food?
Trahana Soup: A Traditional Greek Comfort Food, Explained
About Greek Yogurt
Bruschetta with Whipped Feta and Roasted Florina Peppers