Greek -style baked beans

Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’ occasionally comes to mind when  I cook.  It was a case of “..flying high in April”  when the children wholeheartedly enjoyed the gnocchi but this dish, equaIly as earthy, was my ‘shot down in May’ moment.  Refused to take a bite!  Regardless of the dismal reception by the little dears in my life, this is my favourite way of cooking beans.  The recipe is my mother-in-law’s although probably not strictly adhering to it as I’m relying on my memory of the many occasions she’s graciously procured it over the phone when asked.  In Greek, it’s called gigantes because the lima beans expand whilst soaking and literally become giant beans.  Beware, despite the flavours being simple and clean, the process requires overnight soaking and pre-cooking so commence this the night before. Serve as a main with a green salad and a piquant fetta like piperati, and for extra protein add grilled meat or fish.   …Serves 6 as a main

500g lima beans

2 bay leaves

125ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 medium brown onions

2 celery stalks with leaves, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 tsp ground allspice

800g of coarsely grated ripe tomatoes, or tinned

A handful of parsley chopped

½ cup of breadcrumbs

Soak the beans overnight in a large bowl of water. Drain then place in a large saucepan, add the bay leaf and cover with water.  Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium – low, and cook till very tender, approximately 1.5 hours.  Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.  Add a couple of shakes of salt towards the end of the cooking time.  Drain the beans, reserving about 400ml of the liquid.

Preheat oven to 180⁰ C.  In a frypan, sauté the onions with the garlic in about 2tbs of olive oil till tender and translucent.  Remove from the heat and mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, including the precooked beans with the reserved liquid, except for the breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place in a large baking dish and insert into oven.  Cover with foil and bake for about 45 mins.  Remove the foil and stir the beans add extra water if they seem to be drying out.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and return to oven, baking for another 30 mins.

Serve warm with a final flourish of olive oil.

It's not all in the mind Babka

To my undying shame I have only just discovered a means of keeping abreast of current trends – listening to podcasts.  And one of my favourites du jour, is the ABC’s ‘All in the mind’ which features illuminating discussions on subjects related to the brain and social behaviour. 

A recent episode which was of much intrigue to moi, was the subject of curiosity.  According to clinical psychologist, Todd Kashdan, one of the benefits of retaining a sense of curiosity and pursuing what impassions us is it can prevent cognitive and mental decline.  Our brains are‘exercised’ when we learn a new skill or language, when embracing novel experiences; when we actively seek uncertainty in our lives.  Not only is this invigorating to us as human beings, but also leads to less likelihood of developing dementia. 

Well in the spirit of embracing a novel experience I opened up Tess Kiros’ intoxicatingly magical ‘Falling Cloudberries’ and stumbled upon her recipe for Babka.  This is a Jewish sweet bread characterised by swirls of cinnamon. Since I have never eaten babka myself  I didn’t know what to expect.  My variation is the use of melted butter instead of vegetable oil, because it just tastes better.  When eaten warm from the oven, it is divine! I’m glad one  part of my body benefitted from the babka experience (wasn’t my waistline that’s for sure!!) 

Serves 6 …..

 

625g plain flour

1tsp salt

80g caster sugar

15g dried instant yeast

250ml milk

100g butter

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cinnamon filling

1 tbs ground cinnamon

100g dark brown sugar

60g butter, softened

Glaze

1 egg yolk

2tsp milk

30g sugar, to sprinkle

Mix together the dried ingredients till well combined in a large bowl using a whisk.  Melt butter in a saucepan with the milk over medium heat.  Once melted take off heat and incorporate into the bowl of dried ingredients using your hands. 

Add the eggs and mix a little to combine.  The dough will be thick and sticky.  Turn it out onto a floured work surface, incorporating more flour if necessary so that it is sticky but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.  Knead it for about 10 mins. Grease a large clean bowl with melted butter.

Place the dough in the bowl turning it greased side up.  Cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm location until it is light and doubled in size, about 1^1/2 hours.  Halve the dough and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface .  it will still feel quite sticky.  Roll it out to make a 25 x 45 cm rectangle about ½ cm thick. 

Mix the cinnamon with the brown sugar. Spread half the butter over the rolled out dough (if butter is quite hard grate it instead) and scatter half of the cinnamon sugar over the surface.  Roll up the dough into a long cord along its longest edge.  Set aside and do the same with the other half.  Braid the two dough ropes together, pressing hard to seal the edges together.  Twist the dough braid to tighten the loaf. 

Place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment.  Cover with plastic and leave in a warm place for another hour or so, until it puffs up again.  Preheat the oven to 180^oC.  Mix the egg yolk with the milk and brush over the top of the babka, then sprinkle with sugar.  Put the baking tray on the bottom third of the oven with no shelves above it and bake for 30 – 40 mins.  It will have risen into a beautifully golden loaf.  A skewer inserted into the highest part should come out clean without any dough sticky to it.  If the ends look too brown but the dough doesn’t seem cooked enough,  then cover them with aluminium foil and cook for a little longer.  Cool for a few mins before cutting up and eating as is.  Oh,…so good for the brain!