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When I saw Adina’s post<\/a>\u00a0(on Where is My Spoon blog<\/a>) about Brittany Bean Stew, one of my favourite Polish dishes, my beans were in the middle of soaking session and I was planning to make exactly the same dish! Rare are foreigners who cook or even know this dish, so I thought it was an extraordinary coincidence. Somehow, the following day, probably after having eaten with my eyes all the Adina’s delicious photos, I decided to prepare this Greek-style stew instead. These are the only two ways I cook giant\/runner beans, but I love them so much I never get bored with either. I must have cooked this Greek-style stew dozens of times, but never wrote about it, so I thought it was a good occasion to share the recipe with you.<\/p>\n Gigantes Plaki, the dish which inspired me is a bit different (hence the “style” word which, I hope, will avoid the anger of my dear Greek visitors). From what I read, it’s baked in a shallow dish and, most of all, it’s much thicker than a stew. Apart from my modifications, I hope my seasoning, the presence of these beautiful giant\/gigantes beans and of feta, allows me to mention Greek inspiration. My tweaked recipe is based on Gigantes Plaki from Smashing Plates by Maria Elia<\/a>, a wonderful collection of Greek and Cypriot recipes I have already put into practice several times with successful results.<\/p>\n You might be surprised to see the Chinese celery here, but, believe me, it’s not an attempt to make a fusion dish! I once learnt (probably from Katarina<\/a>, the author of Culinary Flavours<\/a>), that Greeks use a celery variety which has very thin stalks (and it’s not the upper part of celeriac!), often called “wild celery”. As a passionate balcony gardener, I wanted to grow it but couldn’t find seeds and, finally, after a long search I found out that Chinese celery (or kintsai) is a very close variety. Seeds are easily available online, so I sowed them last spring on my balcony and have been enjoying this celery much more than I had thought!<\/p>\n Chinese celery grows very quickly, yields thin fragrant stalks, equally delicious leaves and it’s perfect in stews or other cooked dishes from all around the world (not necessarily Greek or\u00a0 Chinese). It’s not a fussy plant and grows all year long (though slower in winter). I’ve been harvesting it regularly since last summer and the dish you see above was made with fresh harvest from my balcony! It’s very handy when I need just a stalk or two of celery and not the whole plant I’d have to buy. For raw salads or quick stir-fries I still prefer the more popular thicker crunchy celery stalks, but I’m thrilled to discover this new vegetable and encourage every big or small space gardener to grow it.<\/p>\n
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