Gigantes Plaki

Ingredients

• 500g dried gigantes or large dried butter beans
• 120ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 700g ripe tomatoes, grated (or a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes plus 200ml water)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 30g dill, chopped
• 20g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Before you cook

• Soak the beans in plenty of cold water for at least 12 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse them.
• Finely chop the onions, carrot and celery, and slice the garlic.
• Halve the tomatoes and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater, discarding the skins.
• Chop the dill and parsley and keep them separate.

Steps

1. Put the drained beans in a large pot and cover them with cold unsalted water by five centimetres.
2. Bring the pot to the boil over high heat.
3. Skim off the grey foam that rises to the surface.
4. Lower the heat and simmer the beans for 45 to 60 minutes, until one crushes easily between your fingers but still holds its shape.
5. Drain the beans and set aside 400ml of the cooking water.
6. Heat the oven to 180C.
7. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
8. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook them for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet.
9. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
10. Stir in the tomato paste and let it darken for 1 minute.
11. Pour in the grated tomatoes and add the oregano, paprika, sugar, salt and a good grinding of pepper.
12. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, until it loses its raw edge.
13. Stir in the reserved bean water and half the dill.
14. Tip the beans into a wide, shallow baking dish and pour the sauce over them.
15. Fold everything together gently so each bean is coated, then level the top; the liquid should just cover the beans.
16. Bake uncovered for 1 hour, until the sauce has thickened and the top layer of beans has darkened and blistered.
17. Scatter over the remaining dill and the parsley, and trickle on a little more olive oil.
18. Rest the dish for 15 minutes and serve warm rather than piping hot, with feta and bread.