Gigantes Plaki

Ingredients

• 480 g cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 400 g canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 dl olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 dl water
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt to taste

Method

1. 1.

   Sweat the vegetable base — Heat the oven to 180°C. Warm 60 ml of the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion, carrot and celery gently for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything is soft and sweet and nothing has browned.

2. 2.

   Cook out the tomato paste — Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano and bay leaves and cook for two minutes, until the paste darkens from red to brick and coats the vegetables.

3. 3.

   Fold in the beans — Add the canned tomatoes, water, sugar and a generous pinch of salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Fold in the beans and half the dill, keeping the spoon flat so the beans stay whole.

4. 4.

   Spread into the baking dish — Tip everything into a 25 cm baking dish and spread it level — the sauce should just come up to the top of the beans. Pour the remaining olive oil over the surface in a slow spiral.

5. 5.

   Bake until burnished — Bake uncovered for 55 minutes. The top should darken and catch in patches, with the beans on the surface going wrinkled and burnished; if it looks dry before then, add a splash of hot water at the edge.

6. 6.

   Rest and dress with herbs — Rest for 10 minutes so the sauce thickens around the beans, then fish out the bay leaves and scatter over the remaining dill and the parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature, with an extra thread of olive oil.