Gigantes me Chtapodi from Greek Macedonia (Γίγαντες με Χταπόδι)

Greek Macedonia's Gigantes me Chtapodi is a fasting dish with backbone, though the fast allows no backbone at all: giant white beans baked with octopus in tomato, olive oil, and a little sweet red pepper. The beans should be Prespes if you can find them, big enough to hold their shape and tender enough to drink the sauce.

The method that decides the dish is not the octopus. It is the beans. Soak them overnight, then simmer them until they are nearly tender before they meet the tomato. If they go into the oven hard, the sauce will finish before the beans do, and you'll have a beautiful tapsi full of regret. Good olive oil, and patience.

This is special-occasion food in a fasting kitchen, the sort of dish that proves restraint does not mean poverty. Octopus brings depth without meat, and the beans make it a meal. I write it down this way because the region is the dish's surname, and because a cook should be able to make it right the first time, not guess what someone meant by a handful.