Gigantes Recipes

Steps:

• Place the lima beans in a large saucepan. Pour enough water to fill to 2 inches above top of the beans. Allow to soak overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes; drain. Pour the beans into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, and dill; stir.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if the mixture appears dry.

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. :-).

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.

Steps:

• Add the beans to a pot with enough cold water to cover well. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until just soft throughout but not quite cooked, approximately 50 to 80 minutes, depending on the beans. Drain and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups water, honey, cloves, salt, and pepper and boil gently for 20 to 30 minutes or until it begins to thicken. Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
• Place the beans in an oven-proof dish, pour tomato mixture on top, stir and spread mixture out evenly. Bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are soft. (Check the dish during cooking and if needed, add a small amount of boiling water.) The dish will look crispy on top. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.