Fassolia Gigantes Plaki Giant Beans Baked In The Oven Recipes

GIGANTES PLAKI STO FOURNO (BAKED GIANT BEANS)

Steps:

• Soak the beans in plenty of water, overnight.
• Drain and put them in a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil.
• Remove any froth forming on top, with a slotted ladle.
• Drain them again and add fresh water as well as the bay leaf and bring to a boil.
• Add salt, lower heat and simmer until almost cooked (about 1 hour and 30 minutes).
• Drain and discard the bay leaf.
• Put the beans in a a Pyrex in one layer.
• Meantime, heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion until translucent.
• Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
• Add the chopped celery, carrot and bell pepper. Sauté for a few minutes
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the tomato and mix.
• Add vegetable stock or water with a vegetable bouillon.
• Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the beans. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the beans.
• Cover the Pyrex with aluminium foil.
• Preheat the oven to 200o C / 400o F.
• Bake for about 1 hour and remove the aluminium foil and mix.
• Lower heat to 180oC and continue cooking for another half an hour, or until the beans absorb all the juices and the beans begin to caramelize.
• Serve as a main dish or as part of a mezze dish.

GREEK BAKED GIANT BEANS (GIGANTES PLAKI)

Steps:

• Soak the beans in a large bowl with plenty of water for at least 12 hours (24 hours will work best).Rinse them well and transfer them in large pot. Fill with enough water to cover them by at least 2 inches and bring to a simmer. Skim any foam from the surface and cook until tender (about 1 hour). Remove from the heat.
• Preheat your oven to 390°F (200°C).Drain half of the water from the pot and refill with fresh water (this will cool the beans and will help them not to peel-off when drained). Stir gently and let them sit until you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• Drain the beans and transfer them to a large casserole dish or baking pan. Add the rest of the ingredients except the water and stir gently to mix. Add enough water to just cover them.
• Bake for about 60 minutes or until almost all of the liquids have evaporated.
• Serve with bread and olives. Eat!

GIGANTES PLAKI RECIPE (GIGANDES GREEK BAKED 'GIANT' BEANS)

Steps:

• To prepare the gigantes (Gigsntes) plaki, start by soaking the gigantes beans overnight into plenty of water. Drain them into a colander and rinse with plenty of water.
• Place the gigantes in a large pan with cold water, enough to cover them, add a pinch of sea salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes, until tender but not cooked. Drain them in a colander and set aside.
• In the meantime, pour into a large baking pan the olive oil, add the chopped onions, the whole garlic clove (peeled) and bake at 180C, until softened and slightly colored (approx. 15 minutes).
• Turn the baking pan out of the oven. Add the gigantes beans (drained), the celery, the parsley, ½ cup of hot water and season with salt and pepper. Put back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• Turn the baking tray out of the oven, blend the gigantes beans lightly with a wooden spoon and pour in the grated tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, add a pinch of oregano and bake the gigantes plaki further for 50-60 minutes at 180C, until the beans are soft and tender and the sauce thickens.
• For an easier alternative, after soaking the gigantes beans overnight, drain and rinse them. Place in a large pan with enough water to cover them and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain them and place into a large baking pan, along with all of the ingredients, cover with some aluminum foil and bake at 180C for approx. 2 hours. The last 30 minutes, bake without the aluminium foil. Enjoy!

FASSOLIA GIGANTES PLAKI (GIANT BEANS BAKED IN THE OVEN)

Steps:

• Pick the beans clean from stones and grit and soak them in cold water overnight.
• Drain and rinse them in a colander, put into a large saucepan or a pressure cooker, cover with plenty of cold water and boil them until they are cooked but still a little hard.
• This type of bean cooks quickly, so be aware until you get used to them.
• They take hardly 2 minutes in a pressure cooker and about 30-40 minutes otherwise.
• If they get overcooked, they get mushy and soggy and they do not taste at their best.
• This first step then is also the most important in this recipe.
• Drain the beans through a colander and keep aside.
• In the same saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the onions, the garlic and the dried herbs, until they start turning pale golden.
• Add the tomatoes with all the juice from the cans or, if fresh tomatoes are used, add 150 ml water.
• Then add the tomato puree and sugar, break up the mixture with a fork, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
• Mix the parsley into the tomato sauce, add the beans and mix well.
• Spread the beans in an oven dish.
• Sprinkle a little oregano and black pepper on the top and cook in a pre-heated oven at 350 grades F/ 80 grades C, for 30 minutes, without stirring, until they look slightly crisp on top and quite dry.
• Alternatively, add the beans to the tomato sauce, mix well, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

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.

GREEK-STYLE BAKED BEANS (FASSOLIA OR GIGANTES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large, oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions and saute until soft and translucent. (If using frozen onions, saute until pan is dry.) Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Move onions and garlic to edges of pan and add tomato paste to center. Stir tomato paste constantly until very dark and pan is coated. Stir onions into tomato paste and add red wine, scraping up fond from pan as wine evaporates.
• Add tomatoes (with any juice in cans), tomato sauce, spices and beans. Stir everything together well. When simmering, cover and transfer to preheated oven. Bake 40 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

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. :-).