Gigantes plaki, giant butter beans... the Greek way
I learned this dish in Kalambaka, the village at the foot of Meteora, Greece. The old original recipe comes from the monks from the monasteries high on the rocks ...
Servings: 6 persons
Equipment
- stew pot / pan
Ingredients
- 500 gr dried butter beans also called lima beans
- 1 leek
- 1 tomato
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbl spoons olive oil
- 2 tbl spoons tomato paste
- 1 tea spoon dried oregano
- 1 tea spoon parsley fresh, finely chopped
- 2 tea spoon dill fresh
- pepper and salt
- 300 ml vegetable broth
Instructions
- It is important to soak the dry beans in cold, unsalted water the night before. They should be able to soak for at least 12 hours. Then pour away the water.
- Boil the beans until tender, do not put salt in the water as this will loosen the outer shell. If foam gets on the water, scoop it away. Cooking time usually is between 45 and 60 minutes on a gentle simmering fire. But be sure to read the instructions on the packaging!
- Finely dice the onion and tomato. Press the garlic and cut the leek into fine rings.
- Put the olive oil in a deep pan, fry the onion, garlic and leek. Add the chopped tomato and tomato puree and top up with the vegetable stock. Mix everything together well and add the cooked beans.If there is a need for more moisture, you can add some water.
- Finely chop the parsley and dill. Add the herbs (oregano, dill, parsley)Season with salt and pepper and let everything heat up well.
Notes
This dish was served as a side dish in Greece. We always ate fish or oven-cooked aubergine with yogurt. But you can just as well serve meat with it. If you really want to go on the Greek tour, I can certainly recommend a salad of feta and, for example, flatbread ... While I am writing this down, I would like to go back to Greece ;-)
