Gigantes plaki

Gigantes plaki is a Greek baked dish of large dried white beans cooked in a tomato and olive oil sauce. It is usually eaten as a meze or a light main course.

What it really is

Gigantes plaki is built on gigantes beans, the large dried white beans (a type of butter bean, Phaseolus lunatus or Phaseolus coccineus depending on the variety sold in Greece). The beans are soaked overnight, then simmered until partly tender. They are then baked in an earthenware dish with onion, tomato, garlic, parsley, dill and a generous amount of olive oil, with a little water or bean cooking liquid added, until the sauce thickens and the beans are fully soft.

The "plaki" (from a word for a flat pan or baking method) refers to the slow oven-baked, oil-based style of cooking, which is the same method used for other Greek vegetable dishes. Gigantes plaki is distinguished from ordinary white bean stews by the size of the beans, which stay whole and creamy, and by the sauce, which is kept thick and rich with oil rather than made into a soup. It is often confused with fasolia gigantes, a dish that uses the same beans in a looser tomato sauce, and with other baked white bean dishes that use smaller beans.

How it's served

• Served warm or at room temperature as a meze alongside bread and other small dishes.
• Often eaten with crusty bread to take up the sauce.
• Commonly finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and chopped parsley or dill.
• Sometimes served as a light main course with feta or a green salad.

How to write it on the menu

• Write "Gigantes plaki" with the English translation "giant butter beans baked in tomato sauce" so guests know the dish.
• Name the key ingredients: giant white beans, tomato, onion, olive oil, dill or parsley.
• The dish is vegan in its classic form; state it if the kitchen uses stock or butter.
• Note the beans are the defining feature; state if smaller beans or canned beans are used instead.