GIGANTES PLAKI

Greek Baked Beans  

LCD Friendly

 

These are my Yiayia's specialty. Great for vegetarians and are a good side dish for BBQ's as they can be made the day before and served at room temperature.

You can also use cannellini beans if you want but I prefer lima beans as they are bigger and meatier.

I like to eat my gigantes at room temperature with a greek salad and homous on the side.

What you need:

500 gr Lima Beans soaked overnight in cold water
OR
4 tins of lima beans rinsed and washed in warm water

2 onions finely chopped in a food processor

1 green capsisum finely chopped in a food processor

1 dried red chilli - the long ones (optional)

3 bay leaves

1 tin tomato finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley and chopped fresh mint

What to do:

Preparing the Beans:

if using fresh beans you need to soak them overnight in a large pot, then rinse and cover with fresh warm water and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer the beans with the lid half off for 45min-60min or till nearly soft.

Make sure to top up with boiling water as they cook so they don't dry out. They must always be covered with water so they boil evenly.
Once boiled, strain and place in a baking dish.

* If using tinned lima beans just rinse beans and cover with boiling water to heat them through while making sauce. Once sauce is ready, strain the warmed up beans and place in a baking dish.

To make the sauce:

1) pre heat oven to 220 degrees celcius
2) saute onion in olive oil on medium heat till soft - around 10 min
3) add capsicums and cook for a further 5 minutes

4) add tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf then simmer sauce

5) add parsley/mint and heat through
6) place warm beans in a large baking dish, pour over hot sauce
7) stir through sauce, lower oven to 200 degrees and then bake in oven for around 45-60min min till brown on top and sauce is absorbed
8) stir beans once after 10 min of cooking

Allow to cool before serving with crusty bread and a Greek salad