Gigantes Plaki

Ingredients

• 500g Gigantes beans (or lima beans but they break)

  • Cover beans in water and soak 24 hours

• 2 celery stalks diced

• 1 carrot diced

• 5 black peppercorns

• 1/3 cup olive oil for sautee

• 1/3 cup olive oil for pouring on the bake

• 6 garlic cloves sliced thin

• 1 can San Marzano tomatoes blended

• 1 tsp sugar

• 4 large tomatoes sliced

• 1/2 cup parsley

• pinch oregano

• salt and pepper

Method

Cook the beans

1. Soak the beans overnight, get rid of any bad beans, drain the water

2. Put the beans in a large pan

3. Put celery in pan

4. Put carrot in pan

5. Put peppercorns in pan

6. Cover ingredients with water

7. Cover the pan with a lid, and bring to a boil

8. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 1 hour (total about 1.5 hours)

9. Drain and put in a casserole dish

Make the sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. Add 1/3 cup oilive oil to the pan

3. Add onions and garlic to the pan, on a low heat. Stir occasionally (about 5 min)

4. Put the Canned tomatoes in a food processor and process until mostly smooth

5. Stir tomatoes into the pan

6. add sugar

7. Season with salt and pepper

8. Remove from heat,

9. Add chopped parsley

10. Stir the sauce

11. Pour the sauce over the beans

12. Add the sliced tomatoes on top of the casserole in a layer, covering the dish

    • The tomatoes help seal in the juices. You can omit them if you have to, but be careful not to dry out the beans

13. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle oregano, and drizzle the oregano over the top

14. Bake uncovered for 1 hour

    • Until the beans are tender

    • Until the sauce is reduced

    • You may need to add some water if it reduces too much

15. Add some fresh parsley on top when done

Serving Suggestions

• Add some feta, or parmesean and enjoy

• Crusty Bread also works well