white beans the size of quarters?????

[deliciousnyc]

what the heck are they called and where can i buy some.....
i ate at Sip Sack yesterday and my friend ordered a salad that included these yummy white beans - that looked like tuscan white beans, kidney shaped etc. but were gigantic and really delicious.....really about the size of a quarter and fat and yummy

anyone know if they are some special kind of bean and how to find them.....

thanks :)

[fabelmo]

233 st in the bronx in a place called the garden gourmet sells the Elephant beans.

[Cheese Boy]

I looked at their menu, and it seems like you had what the Turkish refer to as Elephant Beans. http://www.tamtad.com/images/urunler/2-1atom.gif ... I know them as Gigantes. Citarella's on the UES sells them already prepared (by the pound near the sliced salmon counter) -- $6.99/lb and tasteless IMO. Sounds like Sip Sack does a better job at them.

Link: http://www.sip-sak.com/home.html

[Nettie]

They could be Corona beans, which I just made tonight. I've seen these in a few gourmet stores for outragous prices, but they're very good.

[wino22]

Yes, I have seen them at Whole Foods at the olive bar and wondered where I could find them in a can. There, they are simply called Gigantes. Thank you to all the posters for the tips on where to find them dried or canned. I've wanted to experiment with them.

[Sophia.]

SipSak definitely makes the best--I've been trying to replicate using dried beans (I've bought giant limas from Titan in Astoria) and they're never as good! At most grocery stores in the city they sell canned gigantes--you can buy the cans that look like dolmades cans (short, fat) and they come seasoned with tomato, oil, herbs, etc. the SipSak recipe is a little different, but the canned ones are a decent substitute. if you make some that turn out well, I'd love your recipe!

[amoncada]

They are either Giant Lima or Fava beans. I don't miss a chance to order them when dining in Greektown/Chicago. I usually order the ones with a light tomato sauce. Mmmm delicious!

[fauchon]

Do you mean the ones called Gigantes? I often see them on the menu in Greek restaurants....

[deliciousnyc]

hmmm - it was a "greek" salad - even tho the restaurant is turkish - so that may be it.....maybe.....

[fauchon]

You can probably find them at Kalustyan's or on Ninth Ave if you're in Manhattan...Basically, any store that sells a wide range of dried beans will probably have them....

[GretchenS]

They sure sound like Gigantes to me. Any Middle Eastern or Greek grocery will have them, usually both dried and canned. You can also use butter beans (Goya has good ones in all supermarkets -- in the Boston area anyway) although I think they are not exactly the same thing.