Sunday was/is family dinner night. I start the meal usually on Friday in some small way, certainly thinking about it, shopping maybe, going out to the Greek store of pick up feta cheese, for instance. Going a little more aggressively into the meal planning by Saturday, say, making dough for bread. And then Sunday morning it’s full steam ahead.
I’d been influenced, as I often am, by YouTube videos of one sort or another and decided on Greek food. I actually did go out to the Greek Store and bought olives, feta, and plakis gigantes, the giant white beans that are the basis for a really popular Greek dish with lemon, rosemary, cinnamon and tomatoes. (Recipe here) Akis Petretzikis is the (Greek, in case that is not clear) guy I watch from time to time and he made these beans which I’d had in Frankfurt and have never forgotten (obviously).
“Soak the beans from 12 to 24 hours.” Yeah, OK, that’s sort of loosey-goosey but fine. I did the entire 24, not wanting these bad boys to be crunchy. I followed the recipe exactly. Made the, uh, sauce, maybe, that the beans go in. I put the whole mess into a casserole as he instructs. And into the oven. An hour and 45 minutes later, just around dinner time, the beans . . . crunchy.
Instantpot saved the day. And the plakis gigantes were delicious.
