Sunday, July 13, 2008

Poor Person's Gigantic Beans - Gigantes


So the reason I'm posting this recipe is coz my friends asked me how to cook beans. The beans above are about an inch or so in length.

They taste very much like a healthy baked potato - good for people who like potatoes but have an aversion to beans.

Ingredients:
  1. Lima beans - cooked until they are firm. (In boiling water) They look white in the middle when they are not cooked. They tend to darken in colour as they cook and absorb water. Don't over cook! Cooking time depends on the freshness of the beans.
  2. Olive oil (The darker the colour, the better)
  3. Salt and pepper
  4. Dill

Mix gently as you would a salad. Add some crumbled feta if you have some. Unfortunately I didn't have any. Some people (like my mum) add vinegar. I don't. You could also add garlic and freshly grated tomato. I ate like a pig last night, so I was going for the pauper version.

[Re quantities: I just add whatever amount tastes good. I will post amounts when it's crucial to the recipe (ie a cake). Also, as all of my recipes are accidents, I'd only be guessing the amounts I used anyway.]

THEA POPPY'S GREEK BAKED BEANS
You many as well learn some greek as we go. "Thea" means aunt. Everyone who is a generation older than you is referrred to as aunt or uncle, I guess it's meant to show respect or something. Thea Poppy is a family friend and great cook. Everything she makes is delicious. This is my version of Thea Poppy's baked beans.

[I was about to make the following recipe, but when I made the beans and then tasted them to see if they were ready be napolied... I found that they were so delicious I couldn't bear to sauce them. The beans must have been really fresh... which doesn't surprise me as they only took about 15 minutes to cook. I'll keep the remaining beans in the fridge, if I'm inspired to make my greek baked beans recipe - I'll post it later.]

1. Cook lima beans (or gigantes if you can find them)... actually it works with any bean.
2. While they are cooking, make your favourite napoli sauce.
3. When the beans are almost cooked (say 80% cooked) drain them. I like to do this so that they absorb the napoli as they cook further in the oven.
4. Add the beans to your napoli sauce and bake them in the oven until they get a little crisp and brown on top and are ready to be eaten. (20-30 minutes?) Yum.
5. To make them more authentically Greek, add dill instead of basil as your main herb.

NOTE: My background is greek, so you'll find a greek influence in my cooking. Gigantes is the greek word for the bigger lima-type beans. My direct translation would be "gigantics". If you can find them - fantastic! In Melbourne I can only find largish lima beans (in Oakleigh) or medium sized lima beans in supermarkets - they're not genuine gigantes but I don't think you can get them here. I've never tried the real thing. Have you?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When I did these beans trying to do your beans, I didn't make the napoli. I just added the napoli ingredients to the beans in the oven. But I cooked them forever (2 hours), so maybe what you lose on the roundabouts you gain on the swings.