Gigante Beans With Feta And Bitter Greens Food

GIGANTE BEANS WITH FETA AND BITTER GREENS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Drain beans, and add to pot. Add tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and just barely simmer, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Blanch dandelion greens until tender and no longer bitter, about 9 minutes. Transfer to ice-water bath using a slotted spoon.
• Once beans are tender, add vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Drain dandelion greens, and add to pot. Rewarm if needed.
• Divide beans among 4 bowls, and top with feta and dill. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon oil.

GIGANTE BEANS

Steps:

• Soak the beans in water overnight.
• Soooooooooooo...if you didn't think yesterday to soak your beans you can do the "quick soak" method, which is to put your beans in a pot covered by at least 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat off and let the pot sit until the water cools down naturally and then pick up the process as if you had soaked the beans overnight.
• Strain the beans from the soaking water. Put the beans in a large pot and cover generously with water. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and bacon skin. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the beans until all the beans are soft, about 1 hour. Add more water if it reduces too much. Test the beans for doneness by doing the 5 bean test. Bite 5 beans, if they are all soft then they are done. Beans do NOT all cook at the same rate so the 5 bean test is important.
• When the beans are cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Season the water generously with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and serve. If not using the beans right away, store them in the refrigerator in their liquid.
• Beans, beans the musical fruit...

GIANT BEANS WITH SPINACH, TOMATOES AND FETA

Steps:

• Combine the beans, water, bay leaf, halved onion, and crushed garlic in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste and simmer another 30 minutes. The beans should be al dente: not yet soft but not hard either. Remove from the heat. Using tongs, remove and discard the onion, garlic and bay leaf. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the beans. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings. Set aside.
• While the beans are simmering, blanch the spinach in a large pot of salted boiling water for 20 seconds, or steam just until it wilts, abut 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the leek and the scallions. Add a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole or baking dish, preferably earthenware. Stir in the spinach, parsley, dill, beans, half the tomato purée, 2 cups of the bean broth and half the feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in another tablespoon of olive oil. Place the remaining tomatoes over the top and sprinkle on the remaining feta. Drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cover and place in the oven.
• Bake 1 to 2 hours, checking the liquid every 20 minutes to make sure that the beans are submerged; add more bean broth if necessary. When they're done, the beans will be creamy but intact.

GIGANTES (GREEK GIANT BAKED BEANS)

Steps:

• Cook the pre-soaked beans in a pressure cooker, with enough water to cover by one inch, for 20 minutes and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 2-3 hours before proceeding with recipe.
• Tip the beans into a large baking pan.
• Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the dill, and stir well to distribute.
• Pour over enough hot water to cover beans by 1".
• Place pan in oven and set oven to 400°F.
• Bake for 2 hours. Check, if you like your beans more tender, cook them a half hour longer.
• Stir dill in for last 15 minutes of baking.
• There will still be plenty of juices in the pan, but these will be absorbed by the beans and thicken as the beans cool.
• Like nearly all bean recipes, these only improve the next day, and the day after next.
• In Greece, these beans would constitute the main, 'vegetarian' meal and would not include the bacon, which is my own addition. We often eat meatless, especially when we're fasting. With or without the bacon or sausage, this is good eating, especially with a big chunk of sharp feta cheese on the side to nibble on between bites of beans and slurps of sauce and some good, honest, crusty bread to clean your plate up with. :-).

GIGANTE BEANS

Steps:

• Place beans in large bowl. Pour enough water over to cover beans by 3 inches; let soak overnight. Drain beans; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Add beans, 8 cups chicken broth, tomatoes with juice, vinegar, ouzo, oregano, and crushed red pepper to pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, adding more broth by cupfuls to keep beans submerged and stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 hours, depending on freshness of beans. If necessary, uncover and cook beans until tomato mixture thickens and liquid is slightly reduced, 10 to 15 minutes. Season beans to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD: beans can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm beans before continuing, adding more chicken broth by 1/2 cupfuls if beans are dry.
• Stir chopped fresh dill into beans. Serve with octopus .

GIGANTES (GREEK LIMA BEANS)

Steps:

• Place the lima beans in a large saucepan. Pour enough water to fill to 2 inches above top of the beans. Allow to soak overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes; drain. Pour the beans into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, and dill; stir.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if the mixture appears dry.

MESSINIA STYLE GIANT BEANS BAKED (GIGANTES) WITH SPINACH & FETA

Steps:

• Put the drained beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 3 in/7.5cm and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beans al dente, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile put the spinach in a large colander and sprinkle lightly with salt. With the palm of one hand, rub the spinach against the holes of the colander, almost in a kneading motion, so that the greens exude liquid. Do this for 10 minutes, and then put a plate over the greens and a weight on top of the plate (such as a large can of tomatoes) and leave to drain for 1 hour.
• Heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat and cook the leek and onions, stirring, until wilted, about 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C
• Combine the drained greens with the cooked onions, the herbs, and 1 cup/150 g of the feta in a large bowl. Drain the beans, reserving 4 cups/960 ml of the cooking liquid and add to the bowl. Add 1 cup/175 g of the tomatoes and toss to combine. Taste and add salt, if desired, and some pepper.
• Put the beans-and-greens mixture in a large ovenproof casserole or baking dish and mix in ¼ cup/60 ml olive oil and 2 cups/480 ml of the bean cooking liquid. Spread the remaining 1 cup/175 g tomatoes over the beans and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup/75 g of feta and the bread crumbs on top. Drizzle the remaining ¼ cup/60 ml olive oil over the surface and bake, covered with parchment then aluminum foil, until the beans are very creamy and soft, but not disintegrating. Depending on the age and condition of the dried beans, this could take anywhere from 1 to 2 ½ hours. Add more liquid to the pan during cooking if necessary to keep the beans from drying out. Remove the paper and foil about 30 - 45 minutes before removing the beans from the oven, so that the surface caramelizes and chars slightly. Serve hot or at room temperature, accompanied by pita bread.

BAKED GIGANTES BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a small oven safe dish or casserole, combine beans with tomato sauce, parsley, and oregano, crushing the oregano in your palm before you sprinkle it into the beans. Drizzle beans with a touch of extra-virgin oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Combine ingredients with a final toss.
• Place in oven and bake 12 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and beans are heated through.

HERB GREEN BEANS WITH FETA

Steps:

• Working in two batches, cook beans in a large pot of boiling, generously salted water just until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to a colander set in a bowl of ice water; let cool. Drain well, then pat dry with paper towels.
• Toss beans, oil, 2 tablespoons mint, 1 tablespoon dill, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and half of feta in a large bowl; season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve beans topped with remaining feta, 2 tablespoons mint, 1 tablespoon dill, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest.
• DO AHEAD: Beans can be cooked 1 day ahead. Wrap in a paper towel, place in a resealable plastic bag, and chill.

ARICA'S GREEN BEANS AND FETA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir red bell pepper and garlic into hot oil; season with salt and black pepper. Cook and stir until the bell pepper is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir green beans with the red bell pepper. Pour white wine over the green bean mixture. Place a cover on the skillet and cook until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the green bean mixture. Sprinkle feta cheese over the mixture. Replace cover and continue cooking until the feta softens, about 3 minutes.

PASTA WITH BITTER GREENS AND FETA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a deep skillet, pot, or Dutch oven with a lid. Add the onion and cook for 10-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring periodically. While the onions are cooking, start the pasta water on high heat in a separate large pot.
• When the onions are soft, add the chopped greens to the skillet, lightly salt, and stir until the greens start wilting. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. You can cook it for longer if the pasta still isn't ready, over a lower flame.
• Meanwhile, when the water in the pot starts boiling, add the pasta and cook until firm to the bite (it will cook further in the sauce so be careful not to overcook at this point). When it is almost done, add the crumbled feta to the sauce, keeping the heat on low.
• When the pasta is ready, scoop it up with a slotted spoon or strainer, holding it over the pot of water to drain, and then add the drained noodles in batches to the sauce in the skillet, mixing thoroughly.
• Cook the finished pasta on low heat for a few minutes. Then add a grating of Parmesan, if you like, and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately; the author recommends serving on plates pre-warmed in the oven.