I wanted to introduce this famous American flavor to Greece. I grew up loving beans! Eating them by the spoonful or dipping potato chips in them is something I have been doing since I was 5 years old. So, without further delay, I present vegan Greek-American stove-top baked beans!

• 500 grams of gigantes plaki (γίγαντες πλακί) beans

First you need to soak your beans in a large bowl of water for at least 12 hours. Rinse and drain when they are done soaking.

Then, put your favorite playlist of music on because the next task will test your patience! Go through the beans, one by one, and remove the outer skin that holds the two beans together. Once you have done this to all of the beans, rinse and drain the beans once more.

Now put the beans in a large pot and fill the pot with cold water until the water is about an inch (2.5 cm) above the beans. Place the pot over high heat on the stove to bring the water to a boil. Stir occasionally to avoid any of the beans on the bottom from burning until the water begins boiling. In between stirring, add:

• 4 cubes of vegetable bouillon
• 1/4 cup of chopped red onions
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Once the water reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low. Simmer the beans over the low heat (low enough heat where the water has little to no movement at all) stirring occasionally. Set a timer for an hour as you will simmer the beans this way for about an hour (basically until the beans are tender but not quite tender enough to eat yet). Cover the beans if you want the beans to be easier to mash or leave the lid off if you desire the beans to hold together a little better. We covered ours for this recipe.

In the meantime, prepare your “sauce” to pour into the beans after they reach the above mentioned state. To do this you will blend the following:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons of organic blackstrap molasses
• 1 teaspoon of mustard powder
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• 1/2 Tablespoon of dried oregano
• 2 medium sized tomatoes

Blend until completely smooth.

Once the beans have reached the almost tender stage you will want to remove some of the liquid from the pot before you pour this sauce in. We did this using a ceramic mug with a handle. I removed enough liquid to be able to see the beans above the liquid all around the pot. I poured what I removed through a strainer so I could save the beans that came with it to put them back in the pot.

Now pour your blended sauce in the pot. Continue cooking them over low heat, stirring occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes. I waited 40 minutes. That’s all there is to it! This is a very famous flavor in the USA traditionally used with navy beans. I figured I would introduce the Greek gigantes plaki (γίγαντες πλακί) beans to this flavor! It was a major success!

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2014