Greek Style Baked Lima Beans (Gigantes Plaki)

This is a vegetarian Greek dish, often served as an appetizer. The Greek name, "Gigantes Plaki," means "giant or large beans."

Ingredients:

1 pound dried lima beans
2 onions, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
 2 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cups tomatoes (chopped or diced with juice)
15 grape tomatoes, halved
2/3 to 1 cup water
 
Put the dried beans into 7 cups of hot unsalted water, bring the water to a rolling boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let sit for 1 hour. Rinse the beans. Put the beans into a casserole dish or baking pan. In a pan, use some of the olive oil to saute the onion, carrot and celery, then after a few minutes, add the garlic. Saute just another couple of minutes. Keeping the pan on the heat, now add the mint, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and the rest of the olive oil. Stir well. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and the grape tomato halves. Add 2/3 cup water, mix well. Bring the mixture to a simmer for just a couple of minutes. Heat the oven to 350 (F). Add the sauce mixture to the beans and stir well. Bake for one hour, stir the beans. Bake another 35 minutes, stir lightly and see if more water is needed; if so, add 1/3 cup water and stir. Bake another 35 minutes, check to see if the beans are tender. Much, but not all, of the liquid should be absorbed. If the beans need more time, do so; otherwise, remove beans from oven for about 10 minutes before serving. You can drizzle a little olive oil over each serving.

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WORD HISTORY:
Kudos-This word goes back to Indo European "(s)keue," which had the notion, "be alert to, to pay attention, to recognize." This gave Ancient Greek the transliterated "kydos," then "kudos," meaning "fame." English borrowed the word in the very late 1700s, and the meaning gradually changed from "fame" to "the praise given to make someone famous, or to those already famous." While likely thought by most English speakers to be a plural form, the "s" ending is singular and is just a typical Greek word ending.