Gigantes

Gigantes are large flat white beans grown in the north of Greece, around the lakes of Prespes and the plains of Kastoria and Florina, where cool water and a short growing season produce a bean noticeably bigger and creamier than an ordinary haricot. The largest grade is sold as elefantes, meaning elephants, and both names are protected under European Union origin rules for that specific region.

Gigantes plaki is the dish almost everyone meets first: the cooked beans baked in a shallow tray with onion, tomato, olive oil and a great deal of parsley or dill until the sauce reduces around them and the surface begins to catch. It is served warm or at room temperature as a meze rather than hot as a main course, and it improves overnight.

The one rule that matters is order. Beans must be soaked and then simmered until genuinely tender before any tomato joins them, because acid halts softening and a bean that goes into the tray still firm will stay firm for hours. Large butter beans or lima beans are the usual substitute abroad, though they break up more readily and want a shorter bake.