Gigantes Plaki
Enormous white butter beans baked low and slow in a rich tomato sauce with olive oil, celery, and sweet onion until their skins split and their interiors become creamy and yielding — the sauce reducing to a thick, tomatoey glaze that the beans absorb like sponges.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Drain the soaked beans and rinse well. Cover with fresh cold water in a large pot by at least 5 cm. Bring to a boil, skim off any white foam that rises in the first 5 minutes. Reduce to a vigorous simmer and cook for 45 to 60 minutes until the beans are tender but still slightly firm at the center — they will finish in the oven. Drain and reserve.
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). In a large, wide oven-safe pan or skillet, heat half the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and celery. Cook, stirring, for 12 to 15 minutes until everything is very soft, sweet-smelling, and just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Do not rush this step.
Add the tomato paste to the soffritto and stir for 2 minutes until it darkens from bright red to rust-brown (this is pinçage — it mellows the acidity). Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and water or stock. Stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Gently fold the parboiled beans into the tomato sauce in the pan. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top. Transfer to the preheated oven uncovered. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, turning the beans once at the halfway point, until the sauce is thick and jammy and the top layer of beans has formed a slightly caramelized, darkened crust. Scatter fresh parsley over the top just before serving.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.