BY JOANNE BRUNO
To put it bluntly; I miss summer foods. I miss tomatoes that taste like sunshine, berries that brighten up your day, flavors so fresh that they remind you of a walk on the beach.
Normally I just remind myself that the warm weather will come, bringing with it the produce that I crave. But when all of this nostalgia gets to be too much to bear…I fake it.
Tomatoes, dill and parsley with some feta sprinkled on top. Giant lima beans added in for sustenance. This is the stuff that summer dreams are made of.
Gigantes Plaki (Greek Baked Beans) Recipe
Serves 4, adapted from Closet Cooking
Ingredients:
1 lb dried gigantes or lima beans
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
red pepper flakes, to taste
28 oz canned diced tomatoes (I used San Marzano!)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup dill, chopped
Feta cheese, for sprinkling on top (optional)
Method:
- Soak the dried gigantes in water with the bay leaves overnight. The next day, bring to a boil and then simmer until beans are tender, about 40-50 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While beans are cooking, heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the onion and carrot and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes, paprika, and oregano and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
- Season the tomato sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the parsley and the dill, along with the beans, and 1/2 cup of the liquid that the beans were cooking in. Pour into a large Dutch oven or casserole dish.
- Bake until the top is browned and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 50-60 minutes. Garnish with feta cheese if desired.
Joanne Bruno is a food writer and third year MD/PhD student. Find more of her delicious ramblings over at her blog: Eats Well With Others.
Photos: Joanne Bruno
For more of Joanne’s recipes, follow me on Twitter (@Marcus Cooks)
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks delicious and so healthy, Joanne!
And since it actually IS summer here in Australia, it will suit my weather perfectly. 
They look fantastic, great flavor in the dish. Did you have to do that? I was perfectly fine with not liking Lima beans and now I’ll have to give them a try.
Such a fun recipe & I love lima beans!
I never thought I would call beans “sexy” but I can’t think of a better way to describe them. They look amazingly delicious too.
You mean it’s not really summer yet? You’d never know it if you stepped outside here. It’s about 65F today! Crazy weather for January. I love the color and look of your beans. I’d have no problem scarfing this down.
What a wonderful recipe Joanne…beautiful dish all around!
This looks fantastic and does remind me of summer in a very nouveaux kind of way. I have never worked with dried limas…I guess it’s time then.
Love love love lima beans! I have got to try this dish. So much flavor!
Love those summery flavors! This looks delicious, Joanne.
It’s been feeling like summer is just around the corner! No snow and warm temps – I even saw an ant today. But this would transport me right to the middle of summer for sure! Delicious.
big baked beans sounds sort of wintery – but the feta gives it a summer feel. And how did you serve them in the top photo – is that polenta underneath them or did I miss something in the recipe?
I’m totally with you. My tomatoes right now taste like a glass of water.
I really like how you served it with grits….errrr, polenta!