Gigantes (Giant Beans)

600g tinned butter beans
400g tinned (or fresh) tomatoes
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Half a medium red (Spanish) onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp of tomato puree (tomato paste)
0.5 tsp brown sugar (if desired)
0.5 tsp oregano
1 tbsp parsley (preferably fresh though)

(Note that if you choose to use dried butter beans, you'll need 400g dried weight, plus you'll need to soak them overnight and cook them before starting the rest of the dish).

Shouldn't be served too hot or too cold. Room temperature is perfect, or just above. Even though it sounds like a side dish, it's really filling so this would constitute a dinner. If you can spare the calories, get some lovely fresh crusty bread and dip in. I generally omit the sugar from the recipe but a Greek guy told me it was crucial so I've included it in the recipe.

Heat oven to about 170 degrees C (Gas Mark 4). Fry off the onion and garlic in the olive oil over a medium heat until softening but not brown. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the beans, stir well and pour into an ovenproof dish. Bake for an hour, uncovered and without stirring. The sauce should have thickened. Remove from oven, allow to cool, add some fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Serving Size: Makes 2 generous servings. Note you need extra time for it to cool after the 75 mins cooking time.

Number of Servings: 2

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user EMSR2D2.