Gigantes Sto Fourno (Baked Butter Beans)
Oct 31st, 2007 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Beans, Vegetables
Growing up, the only beans us kids ate were the canned variety. They were sweet, gooey, starchy and now that I think about it, tinny.
Step into the time machine with me and its Y2K and beyond. I’ve started dabbling more and more in cooking and I’m having a desire to enjoy the tastes and memories I had as a kid.
More recently however, I’m tackling Greek dishes that mom always made. I want those cooking traditions to continue and to share them with you.
Yesterday I showed you my beer batter fish and I told you I had them with beans. The beans I speak of are Gigantes or, baked Butter beans.
This is another classic Greek dish, served as a side or as a vegetarian main during a fasting period or Great Lent. Fast or no fast, I love these beans. Think of Gigantes as Greek comfort food.
In my family, we’ve enjoyed Gigantes with fish but you can try them as a side with any main you prefer. A pork roast and butter beans would make a nice twist on pork n’ beans or try the leftovers like I do as a bean bruschetta.
Beans are good for you. Beans are tasty. Beans are inexpensive. Beans are available all year’ round and, they are easy to prepare. Mark this entry as my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging #107 and this edition goes back home to Utah and it’s founder Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen.
Before I get on with the dish you should note that the first step in the cooking instructions is very important and that’s boiling the beans for two minutes.
According to my mom, this process greatly reduces the prospects of having a “gas” of a time after dinner. It’s now the day after and I have not had to make a run for the Beano!
Gigantes Sto Fourno (Baked Butter Beans)
450 gr. dried butter (lima) beans
1 large carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large stalk of celery, diced
2 large onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 cup pomodoro sauce
1 tsp. smoke paprika
a squirt of ketchup
1 Tsp. Vegeta seasoning
1 Tsp. black pepper
- Place the beans in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil, simmer for 2 minutes and drain.
- Put the beans back in pot along with the carrot, celery, bay leaves and garlic and fill the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approx. 45 minutes or until the beans are soft (taste one). Take off the heat and reserve (including the liquid).
- In a large skillet, add your olive oil and onions and saute them on medium heat for 10-15 minutes to soften. Add the tomato sauce, paprika, Vegeta, pepper, ketchup, parsley, dill and stir in together. Set aside.
- Using a slotted spoon, place your beans, celery, carrot, bay leaves into a large baking casserole. Now add all of the contents of your skillet to the bean mixture in the casserole.
- Pour in enough liquid from the reserved bean liquid to cover everything in the casserole. Mix well and place in a pre-heated 375F oven and bake for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone and the top is nicely browned.
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Oh my gosh Peter, you brought back so many memories with this dish. My mom would use these beans, from a can, to “dress up” a Friday night meal with some type of fish, as we were brought up that no meat was consumed on Fridays. I must say, your dish sounds alot better than my moms! But we won’t tell her that!
This looks delicious–I love gigantes. I’m so happy to have found your blog!
Hi Peter. I haven’t had gigantes for ages. I think I’m going to follow your recipe and do it next week. Saw your comment today on my blog but this morning it was posted in haste, so now I have made some minor corrections/additions.
This sounds just delicious to me. This is a type of bean that I haven’t cooked with very much, but I do like them. The idea of the beans with tomato sauce sounds very Greek to me. (This is based on who have two Greek friends who sometimes cook for me and I’m very taken with Greek cuisine and trying to learn more!)
This is definitely a bean dish I need to try. I found many bean dishes on the menu in Greece. I like to eat beans as a side but as in many cultures and families beans are the main dish.
Those look superb. Dill, eh? Sounds great.
That looks absolutely delicious! My kind of food!
Your fish looks escellent…but I love the beans! I didn’t know the ‘two-minute’ rule, thanks!
I would happily eat these beans on toast (rather than the usual, awful, runny tomato version so loved by folks on this side of the pond)
Very interesting recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever had baked beans. They definitely sound like nice comfort food.
Hey Peter, this is a great veggie dish idea. The butter beans are so large and creamy, they can feel like bits of meat.
I will have to look for giant beans. This sounds like a tasty way of cooking beans.
I absolutely LOVE gigantes. I’m not a big fan of fasolada (it has to be REALLY thick for me to like it), but gigantes hit the spot every time. Darnit, now you’re making me wish my mom was here!
This looks wonderful, Peter.
I want to try this recipe.
Love that little squirt of ketchup
Hi Peter,
Yesterday my eldest son came back home from Crete and his first request was Gigantes. Remembered your post and showed it to him. Had a real laugh about the “gas” tip. I know what paprika is but never heard of “smoke paprika”. Can you please explain it in Greek to me. Thanks
http://www.kopiaste.blogspot.com
Smoked paprika is something I brought back from my parents’ town in Florina. It’s a Kapnisto Paprika and the closest thing to it in the market is Spanish paprika.
Your beans look really delicious! I love beans too, and recently did a baked black-eyed bean dish, Italian style. I am going to try your recipe too. How wonderful it is to be able to share cross-culturally like this via blogs and the net.
The recipe looks great. My family is also from Florina and I’ll make this tomorrow for them. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
what is vegeta seasoning, please?
[...] & fasolia gigantes fournou (Greeks make various dishes with butter beans- what we call ‘fasolia gigantes’- and [...]