Gigante Beans Food

GIGANTES

Steps:

• Add the beans to a pot with enough cold water to cover well. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until just soft throughout but not quite cooked, approximately 50 to 80 minutes, depending on the beans. Drain and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups water, honey, cloves, salt, and pepper and boil gently for 20 to 30 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
• Place the beans in an oven-proof dish, pour tomato mixture on top, stir and spread mixture out evenly. Bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are soft. (Check the dish during cooking and if needed, add a small amount of boiling water.) The dish will look crispy on top. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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 .

PRESSURE-COOKER GIGANTE BEANS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup oil in pressure cooker over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil, and cook until pan is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Add beans, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon salt, and 5 cups water. Seal pressure cooker according to manufacturer's instructions and cook on high pressure 50 minutes. Manually release pressure. Beans should be tender and creamy; if not, reseal and cook 10 minutes longer. Season with more salt if needed.
• Add tomatoes, breaking up with your hands, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened, tomatoes begin to break down, and beans are very tender, 25-30 minutes. Season with salt, if needed.
• Serve beans topped with feta, oregano, and more red pepper flakes and drizzled with oil, with lemon for squeezing over.

GIGANTE BEANS

Steps:

• Using a strainer, rinse beans. Place rinsed beans in a medium bowl, cover with water, and soak overnight.
• Drain beans and rinse; put beans in a medium pot and cover with 6 inches of water. Add bay leaves and bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender. Season with salt and cook an additional 5 minutes. Drain beans and discard bay leaves.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir frequently until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, anise seed, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest and cook for 1 minute.
• Add beans and thyme to vegetables and cook for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cool. Toss with parsley just before serving.

GIGANTES PLAKI

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water. Drain, rinse, then place in a pan covered with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then simmer for approx 50 mins until slightly tender but not soft. Drain, then set aside.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, tip in the onion and garlic, then cook over a medium heat for 10 mins until softened but not browned. Add the tomato purée, cook for a further min, add remaining ingredients, then simmer for 2-3 mins. Season generously, then stir in the beans. Tip into a large ovenproof dish, then bake for approximately 1 hr, uncovered and without stirring, until the beans are tender. The beans will absorb all the fabulous flavours and the sauce will thicken. Allow to cool, then scatter with parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve.

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. :-).

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.