Gigantes

Sebastian's Authentic Greek Cuisine

"A gourmet version of baked beans! Traditionally Greek and delicious as a starter or spicy side dish"
 

The Beans

1. Start by placing the soaked beans in a large pan of fresh water.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 40-50 minutes on a low heat.  Test the beans to see if they are soft, if they are still a little hard, continue the cooking until they are soft and tender. Drain and put to one side.
 

  The Sauce

2. Next you need to prepare the sauce.  Place a medium sized pan on a medium heat and add the chopped onions, garlic and enough olive oil to cover. Make sure that the onions don't burn by stirring occasionally. Remove them from the heat once they are transparent in colour.

3. Add the chopped carrot, we like the pieces to be quite chunky, but if you prefer, you can chop them a little smaller.

4. Add the dried chilli (the number you require is according to your taste and the strength of the chilli...add a small amount to start with and add more if you need more of a kick to the flavour!), freshly chopped parsley, cinnamon stick, tomato puree and enough water to cover all of the ingredients, until halfway up the pan.

5. Cover the pan and set on a low heat and reduce the sauce by simmering for 20 minutes. 

6. By this time the sauce should be richer in taste and texture.   Add a little more water and season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer for a further 15 minutes.

The Dish

7. Place the cooked beans in a glass ovenware (oval or rectangular) dish and pour over the sauce.  Mix the two ingredients together, making sure that the beans are covered by the sauce.

8. Before serving, place the dish in a warm oven (180 degrees) for 20 minutes.

9. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle any remaining chopped parsley over the top.  Serve immediately.  

Ingredients

2 big red onions, chopped

10 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 medium sized carrots, finely chopped

olive oil

1 dried chilli

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley

Salt & pepper to season

500g dried butter beans (soaked overnight in water)