5 portions

Ingredients:

• 500g gigantes
• 2 onions (finely sliced like half moons)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 sticks of celery (finely chopped)
• ½ bunch of celery leaves (finely chopped)
• 2 carrots (finely sliced)
• 700gr finely chopped tomatoes OR canned tomatoes (2x400g)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 pinch of sugar (or a little bit more)
• salt & freshly ground pepper
• ½ bunch of parsley
• 1 cup of water
• 2 tbsp baking soda

Method:

• Soak the beans in water for 12-24 hours. Add some salt or baking soda (at least 2 tbsp) so that the beans will soften inside and become mellow in the end).
• When ready, drain and rinse under running water to remove the salt/especially the baking soda
• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Transfer the beans to a pot, add water and place it over heat
• When the water comes to a boil, simmer for 1 hour until they soften TIP: While they are boiling, there might be foam on the surface of the water. Remove the foam with a wooden spoon.
• When they’re ready, drain them and put them in a baking pan (35x25 cm)
• Place a frying pan on medium heat, pour ½ of the olive oil and when it gets hot, add the onions and saute’ for about 10 minuted till they become transparent
• Add the garlic, the celery, the carrots and continue to saute’ for 2-3 more minutes
• They don’t need to cook, just to become soft and tender
• Add the tomato paste first (rub it on the bottom of the pan), then the sugar, the tomatoes, the celery and the salt & pepper
• Let the mixture cook for about 10 minutes and then pour it onto the gigantes
• Add the rest of the olive oil and 1 cup of water
• Bake using the upper and lower heating elements for 45-60 minutes until the gigantes are soft and mellow and are left in their oil (you’ll need to taste them in the process)
• But if you use the fan (to save time/energy) then place the pan on the middle oven rack and lower your temperature a bit. Also, cover the pan with aluminum foil (otherwise the gigantes will become dry on the outside without becoming mellow on the inside)
• Taste every 15-20 minutes and when they soften, remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes

Tips

• If you soak them for more than 15 hours you might not need the salt/baking soda (it depends on the quality of the gigantes)
• The secret is for them to cook slowly and on low temperature so they can become soft and mellow and full of all the flavours
• If we need to add water during the baking, it should be hot, boiling water so we won’t interrupt the cooking

Serve

Serve with fresh bread, finely chopped parsley, some olive oil, feta, (olives), freshly ground pepper :-)

kai kali sas orexi!