Baked Giant Butter Beans
Try adding some fried bacon pieces to this dish as a final garnish for a nonvegetarian version. Serve with some chewy sourdough village-style bread.
Serves: 4Hands-on: 15 minutesTotal: 2 hours 15 minutesDifficulty: Medium
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 lb. dried Greek gigantes (or giant butter) beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 3 Tbsp. chopped thyme
- 1 tsp. chili flakes
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add beans to generous pot of boiling water; cook 45 minutes over medium heat, until beans are soft. Use large spoon to skim away any surface foam.
- In large pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil; sauté onion until soft. Add garlic and red pepper; mix well. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in tomato sauce, water, parsley, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium-low and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
- Place stoneware or clay baking vessel in oven to warm. When beans are cooked soft, drain and add to pan with sauce; combine. Take heated vessel out of oven. Add beans; pour remaining olive oil over top and return to oven. Bake 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.