This is an incredible recipe. It is earthy and sweet with a lot of umami notes. Dry giant beans, very common in Greece by the name of Gigantes (meaning giants) mingle with a few winter ingredients, dried porcinis, and some Asian condiments for a delicious and nutritious meal.
Soak in salted water:
Giant beans, about 2 cups
overnight. Place in a lot of fresh water in a big pot and boil for about 50 minutes, until easily pierce-able but not falling apart.
While the beans are cooking, place in a bowl 400 ml of water and soak:
Dried porcinis, 1,5 cup
Weight them down so that they stay submerged in the water and leave them to rehydrate for at least 30 minutes. Drain, but keep the soaking water, and cut in bite-size pieces.
In another bowl whisk:
Miso paste, 2 tbsp (fermented soybean paste widely used in Japanese cuisine as a seasoning condiment - available in Asian markets, it will keep forever in the fridge)
Tomatoes, grated, 2 pcs
Sugar, 1/2 tsp
Sambal Oelek, 2 tsp (Indonesian chilli sauce, you can get in Asian markets - optional for some funky heat)
Oil a large pan that can go in the oven over medium to high heat and add:
Onion, 1 small pc, in small cubes
Green Pepper, 1 pc cut in quarters and then in thin strips
Garlic, 2 big cloves, cut finely
Move around the pan for a few minutes then add the porcinis, the sauce, the cooked and drained beans, and:
Chestnuts, boiled and cut in bite size pieces, 1 cup
Kale, shredded, 1 packed cup
Mix well, add the porcini soaking water and
Apple juice, bought, 100 ml
Season with salt to taste and bake in preheated oven 200 C for about 40 minutes until there is hardly any liquid left. When ready mix in some fresh:
Parsley, finely cut
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