Best Gigante Beans With Feta And Bitter Greens Recipes

GIGANTES PLAKI RECIPE (GIGANDES GREEK BAKED 'GIANT' BEANS)

Steps:

• To prepare the gigantes (Gigsntes) plaki, start by soaking the gigantes beans overnight into plenty of water. Drain them into a colander and rinse with plenty of water.
• Place the gigantes in a large pan with cold water, enough to cover them, add a pinch of sea salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes, until tender but not cooked. Drain them in a colander and set aside.
• In the meantime, pour into a large baking pan the olive oil, add the chopped onions, the whole garlic clove (peeled) and bake at 180C, until softened and slightly colored (approx. 15 minutes).
• Turn the baking pan out of the oven. Add the gigantes beans (drained), the celery, the parsley, ½ cup of hot water and season with salt and pepper. Put back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• Turn the baking tray out of the oven, blend the gigantes beans lightly with a wooden spoon and pour in the grated tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, add a pinch of oregano and bake the gigantes plaki further for 50-60 minutes at 180C, until the beans are soft and tender and the sauce thickens.
• For an easier alternative, after soaking the gigantes beans overnight, drain and rinse them. Place in a large pan with enough water to cover them and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain them and place into a large baking pan, along with all of the ingredients, cover with some aluminum foil and bake at 180C for approx. 2 hours. The last 30 minutes, bake without the aluminium foil. Enjoy!

MESSINIA STYLE GIANT BEANS BAKED (GIGANTES) WITH SPINACH & FETA

Steps:

• Put the drained beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 3 in/7.5cm and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beans al dente, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile put the spinach in a large colander and sprinkle lightly with salt. With the palm of one hand, rub the spinach against the holes of the colander, almost in a kneading motion, so that the greens exude liquid. Do this for 10 minutes, and then put a plate over the greens and a weight on top of the plate (such as a large can of tomatoes) and leave to drain for 1 hour.
• Heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat and cook the leek and onions, stirring, until wilted, about 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C
• Combine the drained greens with the cooked onions, the herbs, and 1 cup/150 g of the feta in a large bowl. Drain the beans, reserving 4 cups/960 ml of the cooking liquid and add to the bowl. Add 1 cup/175 g of the tomatoes and toss to combine. Taste and add salt, if desired, and some pepper.
• Put the beans-and-greens mixture in a large ovenproof casserole or baking dish and mix in ¼ cup/60 ml olive oil and 2 cups/480 ml of the bean cooking liquid. Spread the remaining 1 cup/175 g tomatoes over the beans and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup/75 g of feta and the bread crumbs on top. Drizzle the remaining ¼ cup/60 ml olive oil over the surface and bake, covered with parchment then aluminum foil, until the beans are very creamy and soft, but not disintegrating. Depending on the age and condition of the dried beans, this could take anywhere from 1 to 2 ½ hours. Add more liquid to the pan during cooking if necessary to keep the beans from drying out. Remove the paper and foil about 30 - 45 minutes before removing the beans from the oven, so that the surface caramelizes and chars slightly. Serve hot or at room temperature, accompanied by pita bread.

GIANT BEANS (GIGANTES) WITH GREENS

Steps:

• Soak your beans in cold water overnight.
• Drain and rinse your beans. Fill up a large saucepot with cold water and add the beans (be sure that the water covers the beans by at least 2 inches). Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours, uncovered, until your beans are tender. You may need to add additional water as the beans cook. Drain and set aside.
• While your beans are cooking, prepare your greens by chopping them into 1 inch pieces or so and washing them well. There is no need to dry the greens. Set aside.
• In a large frying pan set over medium heat add 1/4 cup olive oil and saute the onion, leek, garlic, green onions, dill and oregano for about 7-8 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent burning. Next add as many greens as can easily fit into the pan and allow them to cook down. Repeat, adding more greens until all have been incorporated. Be mindful not to allow the greens to burn. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Transfer the greens to a lightly greased 9 x13 baking dish and spread them across the bottom. Top with the fresh chopped parsly and then layer the drained beans on top. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water and the salt and pepper.. Top with an additional 1/4 cup olive oil. There is no need to mix.
• Bake on the bottom rack of your oven, uncovered, for approximately 30 minutes.
• Before serving, drizzle with additional olive oil, and squeeze the juice of a lemon over the contents in the pan. Add additional salt and pepper if desired. Stir well to combine and enjoy!

BAKED GIGANTES BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a small oven safe dish or casserole, combine beans with tomato sauce, parsley, and oregano, crushing the oregano in your palm before you sprinkle it into the beans. Drizzle beans with a touch of extra-virgin oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Combine ingredients with a final toss.
• Place in oven and bake 12 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and beans are heated through.

GIGANTE BEANS WITH FETA AND BITTER GREENS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste. Cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Drain beans, and add to pot. Add tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and just barely simmer, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Blanch dandelion greens until tender and no longer bitter, about 9 minutes. Transfer to ice-water bath using a slotted spoon.
• Once beans are tender, add vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Drain dandelion greens, and add to pot. Rewarm if needed.
• Divide beans among 4 bowls, and top with feta and dill. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon oil.

GIGANTE BEANS

Steps:

• Soak the beans in water overnight.
• Soooooooooooo...if you didn't think yesterday to soak your beans you can do the "quick soak" method, which is to put your beans in a pot covered by at least 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat off and let the pot sit until the water cools down naturally and then pick up the process as if you had soaked the beans overnight.
• Strain the beans from the soaking water. Put the beans in a large pot and cover generously with water. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and bacon skin. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the beans until all the beans are soft, about 1 hour. Add more water if it reduces too much. Test the beans for doneness by doing the 5 bean test. Bite 5 beans, if they are all soft then they are done. Beans do NOT all cook at the same rate so the 5 bean test is important.
• When the beans are cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Season the water generously with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and serve. If not using the beans right away, store them in the refrigerator in their liquid.
• Beans, beans the musical fruit...

ARICA'S GREEN BEANS AND FETA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir red bell pepper and garlic into hot oil; season with salt and black pepper. Cook and stir until the bell pepper is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir green beans with the red bell pepper. Pour white wine over the green bean mixture. Place a cover on the skillet and cook until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the green bean mixture. Sprinkle feta cheese over the mixture. Replace cover and continue cooking until the feta softens, about 3 minutes.

GREEN BEANS WITH FETA

Steps:

• In 6-quart saucepan, heat 1 inch water and beans to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.
• In large bowl, place beans. Add remaining ingredients except feta cheese; toss to coat.
• Top with feta cheese; serve warm.

GREEN BEANS WITH TOMATO & FETA

Steps:

• Boil a pan of water. Once boiling, add the beans and cook for 4 mins until tender. Drain the beans, then mix with the tomato and feta. Drizzle over the olive oil and season generously with black pepper.

GIANT BEANS WITH SPINACH, TOMATOES AND FETA

Steps:

• Combine the beans, water, bay leaf, halved onion, and crushed garlic in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste and simmer another 30 minutes. The beans should be al dente: not yet soft but not hard either. Remove from the heat. Using tongs, remove and discard the onion, garlic and bay leaf. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the beans. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings. Set aside.
• While the beans are simmering, blanch the spinach in a large pot of salted boiling water for 20 seconds, or steam just until it wilts, abut 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the leek and the scallions. Add a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole or baking dish, preferably earthenware. Stir in the spinach, parsley, dill, beans, half the tomato purée, 2 cups of the bean broth and half the feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in another tablespoon of olive oil. Place the remaining tomatoes over the top and sprinkle on the remaining feta. Drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cover and place in the oven.
• Bake 1 to 2 hours, checking the liquid every 20 minutes to make sure that the beans are submerged; add more bean broth if necessary. When they're done, the beans will be creamy but intact.

CRISPY GRILLED FETA WITH SAUCY BUTTER BEANS

Steps:

• Put a large ovenproof frying pan over a medium-high heat, and tip in the passata, butter beans, garlic, oregano, spinach and peppers. Stir together and cook for 6-8 mins until the sauce is bubbling and the spinach has wilted. Season, then add the lemon juice.
• Heat the grill to high. Scatter the feta over the sauce, so it's still exposed, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over the lemon zest plus a pinch of oregano, then grind over some black pepper. Grill for 5-8 mins until the feta is golden and crisp at the edges.
• Meanwhile, toast the pittas under the grill or in the toaster, then serve with the beans and feta.