Gigantes Bruschetta (Γιγαντες Bruschetta)

Today is the last day of my mini-fast for Great Lent. Tonight, I'm going to go back to eating regular meals which means yay...meat and cheese & such!

I will however still post some more Lent-friendly dishes through the next month or so. Holy Week is still coming up and alot of Greeks will be still looking for new food ideas while fasting.

I'm excited to show you my Gigantes Bruschetta. Gigantes are a Greek baked butter beans dish that's served in practically every Greek home.

Last year I posted my family's version of Gigantes and you can follow the easy steps here. I made Gigantes the other night and I was looking forward to having my Greek snack...a Bruschetta topped with Gigantes.

Before I continue, let me set the record straight on how Bruschetta is pronounced: it's "Brooos-Sketta". Got it? Good! Apparently I have a few Italian food Carabinieri who are watching my every little step!

This appetizer is very simple. Slice a piece of bread on a bias and place it on a grill to warm and crisp up.

Scrape the top of the bread with some garlic, drizzle with olive oil and top with the warm Gigantes.

Serve as an appetizer, meze or snack. Your guests will ask for more!

Three Alarm Texas Style Chili

I recently joined the thousands who have added a "slow cooker" to their arsenal of kitchen tools. For those not in the know, a slow cooker is a utensil that is a "plug in". It allows one to basically throw all the ingredients of a slow-cooking dish into the crockpot, close the lid, set to low and forget about until back home from work to find a comforting, delicious and tender meal ready to serve your family.

A slow cooker is an alternative to braising or the more traditional crockpot (or dutch oven) cooking done on your stove top or oven. I suspect the slowcooker saves one from using the oven all day and thus saving on electricity.

I was a little disappointed by the lack of inspired slow-cooker recipes out there (internet). Most are generic recipes that are provided by manufacturers of slow cookers and many of them are bland.

I've made two dishes so far and the first quick lesson I learned is that one does not need much water in the recipe. A slow cooker's lid is on during the whole cooking process which renders moisture from the meat and vegetables. As a rule of thumb, I think a 1/2 cup of liquid is suffice when slow cooking a family sized meal.

When I bought the slow cooker, I knew that Chili con Carne would be a natural for the slow cooker. As a blogger, I also knew that my chili would probably get lost amongst the parade of chili dishes also being prepared by others and adding to the loud din of chili on the internet.

Before I go further let me state that I've never stepped on Texas soil and nor have I had a Texan make me a chili before. Here in North America, chili has been eaten by the majority of people and it's a kitchen standard in many homes.

It's origins are no doubt from the US/Mexican border region and the food genre is commonly known as Tex-Mex...do not call chili Mexican.

To make my chili stand out, I went for the the Texas version which calls for real pieces of beef, not ground meat. I also cranked the heat up since it's cold outside. Food should be about contrasts, yin & yang. C-c-c-c-cold outside, H-h-h-hot food inside.

I intentionally made this chili spicy but you may certainly tone it down (you spineless jellyfish). I'm a fan of heat but be assured this chili won't blow your head off, espcially when you also have some cheddar cornbread to offset the heat.

Three Alarm Texas Style Chili

3 Tbsp. of sunflower oil
2 lbs. of top sirloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, rough dice
1/2 green bell pepper, rough dice
1/2 red bell pepper, rough dice
3 large cloves of garlic, smashed
2 - 16 oz. cans of tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup of good chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. of ground cumin
1 tsp. of ground coriander
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 - 16oz cans of kidney beans (plus liquid)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1. In a large skillet, add your oil and set the heat to high. Season your cubed meat with salt and pepper and brown the meat in batches under medium high heat. Reserve your beef.
2. In the same skillet, add some more oil and add your onions, garlic, bayleaf, peppers and saute under medium heat for about 10 minutes to soften. (You may add some water to help deglaze the beef drippings from the previous saute).
3. Into your slowcooker, add your diced/chopped cans of tomatoes, the beef, the sauteed vegetables, chili powder, kidney beans, oregano, coriander and chipotle peppers.
4. Set your slow cooker to low, cover with the lid and simmer for at least 5 hours. After, check the seasoning and adjust seasoning with salt. If the chili is too thin, uncover the slow cooker and allow to simmer in this manner, your chili will thicken.
5. Serve with some corn bread and stay warm with this very comforting meal.
   

Gigantes Sto Fourno (Baked Butter Beans)

Growing up, the only beans us kids ate were the canned variety. They were sweet, gooey, starchy and now that I think about it, tinny.

Step into the time machine with me and its Y2K and beyond. I've started dabbling more and more in cooking and I'm having a desire to enjoy the tastes and memories I had as a kid.

More recently however, I'm tackling Greek dishes that mom always made. I want those cooking traditions to continue and to share them with you.

Yesterday I showed you my beer batter fish and I told you I had them with beans. The beans I speak of are Gigantes or, baked Butter beans.

This is another classic Greek dish, served as a side or as a vegetarian main during a fasting period or Great Lent. Fast or no fast, I love these beans. Think of Gigantes as Greek comfort food.

In my family, we've enjoyed Gigantes with fish but you can try them as a side with any main you prefer. A pork roast and butter beans would make a nice twist on pork n' beans or try the leftovers like I do as a bean bruschetta.

Beans are good for you. Beans are tasty. Beans are inexpensive. Beans are available all year' round and, they are easy to prepare. Mark this entry as my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging #107 and this edition goes back home to Utah and it's founder Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.

Before I get on with the dish you should note that the first step in the cooking instructions is very important and that's boiling the beans for two minutes.

According to my mom, this process greatly reduces the prospects of having a "gas" of a time after dinner. It's now the day after and I have not had to make a run for the Beano!

Gigantes Sto Fourno (Baked Butter Beans)

450 gr. dried butter (lima) beans
1 large carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large stalk of celery, diced
2 large onions, diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 cup pomodoro sauce
1 tsp. smoke paprika
a squirt of ketchup
1 Tsp. Vegeta seasoning
1 Tsp. black pepper

1. Place the beans in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil, simmer for 2 minutes and drain.
2. Put the beans back in pot along with the carrot, celery, bay leaves and garlic and fill the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approx. 45 minutes or until the beans are soft (taste one). Take off the heat and reserve (including the liquid).
3. In a large skillet, add your olive oil and onions and saute them on medium heat for 10-15 minutes to soften. Add the tomato sauce, paprika, Vegeta, pepper, ketchup, parsley, dill and stir in together. Set aside.
4. Using a slotted spoon, place your beans, celery, carrot, bay leaves into a large baking casserole. Now add all of the contents of your skillet to the bean mixture in the casserole.
5. Pour in enough liquid from the reserved bean liquid to cover everything in the casserole. Mix well and place in a pre-heated 375F oven and bake for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone and the top is nicely browned.