010Baked giant beans

Method

Classic baked giant beans. Best served warm or at room temperature alongside crusty sourdough bread and feta (if not fasting).

You will need

• Large pot
• Sauté pan
• Wide earthenware or enamel baking dish (about 32 x 24 cm)

1. Drain the soaked beans, place them in a large pot, cover with plenty of fresh water, bring to a boil, skim the surface, and simmer gently for 45 to 60 minutes until just yielding. 55 min Ready when: Beans are cooked through but still intact and holding their shape
2. Preheat a conventional oven to 190°C (375°F) and drain the beans, reserving 250 ml of their cooking water. 5 min · 190°C / 375°F
3. In a wide pan, heat 50 ml of olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots for 8 minutes until softened. 8 min Ready when: Vegetables are aromatic and tender
4. Stir the tomato paste into the pan for 1 minute, then add the tinned tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper, simmering for 5 minutes. 6 min Ready when: Sauce comes together into a light simmer
5. Transfer the drained beans to a wide baking dish, pour over the tomato sauce, chopped parsley, reserved bean water, and the remaining 100 ml of olive oil, stirring gently to combine. 5 min Ready when: Beans sit in a shallow layer bathed in liquid
6. Bake uncovered in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes without stirring, until the sauce is reduced and thickened and the tops of the beans are wrinkled and slightly caramelised. 55 min · 190°C / 375°F Ready when: Sauce is concentrated into rich oil and tomato, with tops of beans lightly browned

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Gigantes taste considerably better the next day after the flavours settle.

Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days; reheat gently or eat cold.

Substitutions

• canned butter beans for dried giant beans (gigantes or large butter beans). Skip the initial boiling step and bake directly with the sauce for 35 minutes.

Common mistakes

• Boiling the beans until they burst before baking.. Gigantes must keep their skins intact during the initial simmer so they do not collapse into mush in the oven.
• Using too deep a casserole dish.. A plaki requires a wide, shallow surface area so liquid evaporates and the beans caramelise.

Regional variants

• Gigantes with Florina peppers and smoked paprika (Macedonian style)
• Gigantes baked with spinach or wild greens (horta)

About the dish

Gigantes plaki is a pillar of Greek home and tavern cooking. Giant white kidney beans (Phaseolus coccineus) are grown extensively in the cool, lake-fed microclimates of Western Macedonia around Prespes and Kastoria. The cooking method 'plaki' refers to flat baking in a wide dish with olive oil, sweet onions, tomatoes, and aromatic greens. Eaten hot as a comforting main course or at room temperature as part of an elaborate meze table, it is an essential dish during Orthodox fasting periods.

Found in Macedonia, Thessaly, all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, lent, sunday lunch.

Cousins elsewhere

• Kuru fasulye pilaki (Turkish). Plaki/pilaki denotes a gentle braise or bake of pulses or fish in olive oil, onion, and tomato.
• Tavče gravče (Balkan). A related Balkan baked bean dish traditionally cooked in unglazed earthenware.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

710 kcal · protein 24.2 g · fat 35.6 g (saturated 5 g) · carbohydrate 77.5 g (sugars 9.1 g) · fibre 22.6 g · sodium 176 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Rooted in the northern Greek tradition of wide-pan pulse baking with generous olive oil..