Craving a taste of Greece that warms your soul? This Gigantes Plaki recipe is the real deal – tender, giant white beans, gigantes, baked in a rich, herby tomato sauce, drizzled with golden olive oil. It’s the ultimate Greek comfort food, perfect for cozy nights or sharing with friends and family. I’ll show how to easily master this traditional dish! You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to bring these incredible flavours home!
1 1/2 Cup Dry Gigantes – soaked overnight, rinsed and boiled
2 Cups Chopped Roasted Tomatoes
2 Cups Vegetable Broth (rich in flavour)
1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
1 1/2 TSP Greek Oregano
1 TSP Greektown Spice Blend (Garlic Powder, Basil, Oregano, Cinnamon, Parsley, Rosemary, Dill Weed, Marjoram, Thyme, Nutmeg)
1/2 Red Onion
1 Celery Rib
1 Cup Carrot
1/2 Cup Zucchini
5 Garlic Cloves
Olive Oil to coat cocotte (and for later on)
1 Large Bay Leaf
Chilli Flakes (optional)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
Salt to taste (you may not need any or much depending on your veg stock/preference)
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme
Vegan Feta
Garnish: Parsley
Serve with toasted baguette, a nice salad, and Greek olives of your choice. (Just a suggestion). There are more Greek olives than Kalamata olives – those just seem to be the most popular.
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Thoughts/Notes:
For dry gigantes beans an overnight soak is required. Please rinse the beans well and then boil them prior to continuing with the next steps. This will be much better for the final texture and for your stomach.
If you cannot find gigantes beans, but you are anxious to try this recipe, feel free to substitute the beans with large lima beans. (The largest you can find preferably).
If you are using canned beans, of course rinse them. You will not need to boil them obviously since they are cooked. You will need to reduce the amount of liquid by quite a lot and the cook time will be reduced as well. You will only want the liquid to cover the beans and you will likely use very little veg stock. The flavours will be quite different though as a result if you opt for this alternative.
This dish freezes well and you can make a big batch and freeze it for up to three months. I recommend portioning it out for individual meals and faster reheating.
The dish/recipe itself is gluten free. If you are celiac, feel free to use a gluten free baguette or suitable alternative that you’ll be happy with. Let me know what your choice is too if you make this!
Not everyone uses feta in their gigantes plaki, so those versions are likely to be vegan to begin with. (Unless the stock has something in it). I recommend trying the Violife vegan feta though if you haven’t tried it yet. Plus, there are so many varieties out there! Try different varieties and let me know what your favourite vegan feta is.
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Music:
Mi Dispiace – The Mini Vandals
Oud Dance – Doug Maxwell
Sus Remedios – Casa Rosa
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#gigantes #tasteofgreece #veg
Welcome back everyone to another episode of Cooking with JJ. As promised in my previous week’s video, I’m bringing to you a popular and traditional Greek dish. It is called Giganti’s pli. It’s going to be super rich in flavor, filling, nutritious, delicious, and you’ll learn some fun facts along the way. So, make sure you stay tuned all the way through. I’m really excited to get started on this. and of course enjoy it in the end. So without further ado, let’s head over to the kitchen and get [Music] cooking. First of all, I’m getting one and 1/2 cups worth of our dried gigantis beans. Be sure to soak them overnight. The next day, be sure to drain and rinse them well. Now it’s the next day and I’m going to boil them in some salted water. For beans, some people like to add a touch of baking soda to their water. I’m dicing half of a red onion. [Music] And I’ll slice up one celery rib. You can add a little bit more. I’m going to mince this celery all [Music] up. I’m going to mince up some carrots here. And I’ll get about a cup’s worth. [Music] I thought that zucchini would be a nice personal touch. So, I’m mincing up some zucchini as well. And I’ll use about a half a cup’s worth. [Music] [Music] [Music] I’m going to mince up five cloves of garlic. [Music] We got our mison plus going on here. So, we’re ready to move on to the next [Music] step. I’ve added some olive oil to our capot. We’re going to add our diced red onions. Then I’m adding the carrots, the zucchini, celery. We’ll stir this up and let it soften for a few [Music] minutes. Now I’m adding in our minced garlic. [Music] And I’m adding in one large bay [Music] leaf. I’m adding two cups of our diced roasted tomatoes. [Music] [Music] And I’m going to add two cups of veggie stock. Add in one teaspoon of Greek Town spice. [Music] Chili flakes are an optional addition. May Yaya loved her chili flakes. Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of your Greek oregano and freshly ground black pepper. Add salt to your taste, keeping in mind the salt levels in the veggie stock. Add in one teaspoon of ground cumin. [Music] And it’s time to add in our gigantis. Mix them all up evenly. Drizzle in some olive oil for extra [Music] flavor. I’m adding in 1/4 cup of dry white wine. and a tablespoon of fresh [Music] thyme. Now we’ll pop this in the oven covered for about 30 minutes. [Music] Giganti’s beans are from Ctoria and Prospice in Greece and they’re recognized by the EU as protected geographical indication products which indicates they have a special regional importance and unique quality. They have been cultivated since the late 17th century and a special feature about them is that they have thin skins. The farming methods used are mostly by hand. Very minimal machinery is used. And these methods have been passed down from families from generation to generation. Gigantes are not only beings, but they were known as characters from Greek mythology. They were born from Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and Uranus, the god of the sky. They had human features from the waist up, but they had no legs. Instead, they had serpent tails. But I assure you, there were no giants involved in the making of this recipe. is the cooking method of this dish. We put it in the oven. It’s cooked with tomato sauce, olive oil, veggies, and some delicious herbs. The word for beans in Greek is foya. I crumbled up some vile vegan feta, and this will be for one of the finishing touches. And I have some chopped parsley ready to go. Our 30 minutes is up, so we’re going to add in our crumbled vegan [Music] feta. We’ll press some of it down into the sauce. Let it cook for an additional 10 minutes, covered or uncovered, depending on your sauce levels. We’ll slice up some [Music] baguette. Toast your baguette pieces when you’re about ready to serve. [Music] As you can see, we’ve melted the vegan feta into a dish. Feel free to make adjustments depending on what you’re going for. You may like to just sprinkle your feta on at the end. Sprinkle on your parsley for the finishing touch. Pair this dish with a nice dry Greek white wine. [Music] It’s that time again everyone. I get to try our delicious gigantis blackie. [Music] tastes like [Music] grease. I highly recommend do not skip out on the Greek Town spice, but if you don’t have that blend, you can make it yourself. Refer to the ingredients below that are in the mix of the Greek Town spice. And don’t forget the cinnamon. Careful. You’re gonna drop your You’re going to drop the bread. Bread. It’s on the edge. Balancing. I like to live on the edge. The edge of bread. These are the most delicious. Oh, good. Sit down. Relax. Okay. I always stand up for a black. I love Are you This is Susan Sar. Susan Sarra. What did you say before? I said to have Greek food properly, you need French bread. How do you know it’s French? It’s like that. Greeks just invented like that. Just goes well. The the gloriness. He’s glory from us. I thought he has a blurry image. How is it? Good. Mhm. What’s it taste like? Very good. Authentic. Mhm. Almost like being in grease. Isn’t it? So there you have it everyone. a traditional Greek recipe that I veganize that you can add to your recipe booklets. And remember, if you like this video in any way, shape, or form, hit that thumbs up button, subscribe to my channel if you have yet to do so, and be sure to hit the bell notification icon so you don’t miss a single video. There’s going to be a new video popping up every Monday at 12:00 noon Eastern, so you don’t want to miss it. Until next time, this is JJ signing off, keeping things interesting in my kitchen and in yours. [Music] Calorexi. And a notable feature of these beans is that their thin is skin. [Music]
1 Comment
Yum! I think I'll make this for Shavuot.