If it’s Wednesday, we’re going to make a bean entree. I was introduced to Simpli Organic dry beans by the talented Amanda Leahy, the CSA Manager at Clark Farm Carlisle, and wow! What a difference the brand of dry beans can make! Also, once moving toward more local and organic suppliers meant I had access to a whole new range of beans.
This variety, Gigante beans, are an extra large, white colored and kidney shaped bean often used in Greek cuisine. They are wonderfully creamy in texture and very mild tasting.
Today’s recipe for Gigante Beans in Tomato Basil sauce originated on the Simpli website (the brand of beans I used for this recipe). I adapted it to retain the general idea of the dish, but used what I had on hand. You should too.
One change I made was necessitated by the first instruction: I usually cook beans from scratch in my Instant Pot, and that has the advantage of allowing me to be a little more last minute (soak or no-soak works) as well as pre-cooking quantities for later use. My current favorite method comes from Simply Recipes (Emma Christiansen) and you can find it here – “How to Make Fast, No-Soak Beans in the Instant Pot.” Game-changer.
Gigante Beans in Tomato Basil Sauce based on a recipe found on Simpli
Ingredients
- SIMPLI regenerative organic certified gigante beans
- SIMPLI EVOO (I used my usual pantry brand)
- SIMPLI Peruvian Pink Salt (I used Himalyan)
- Matriak Tomato Basil Sauce (I used Mutti brand)
- Basil (for topping)
- Parmesan (for topping
Method
- Cook the gigante beans according to your preferred method until they are tender and creamy (I used the method mentioned in the headnote)
- Warm up the tomato basil sauce in a separate pan.
- Combine tomato sauce and gigante beans
- Garnish with torn fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan
- Serve with olive oil and salt
Four Nights A Week 
Leave a comment