Baked giant beans

Finding cans of cannellini, garbanzo, Great Northern and black beans is easy. But finding cans of giant white beans -- often called “gigantes” -- is not. Occasionally they turn up in gourmet food stores, but they’re not often exceptional. So it was a happy occasion when a box arrived here recently at the Food section containing a single can of baked beans, giant Greek beans from Valley Hye, an Armenian deli in Van Nuys. They’re terrific -- creamy and tender, dressed in a light tomato sauce with a hint of onions and dill. And best of all, they’re big: more than an inch and a quarter in length, fat and beautiful. The beans came courtesy of retired lawyer Larry Silverton, whose daughter Nancy wrote the new cookbook “A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals With Ingredients From Jars, Cans, Bags and Boxes.” Silverton, who says he enjoys the beans spiced up with Italian sausage and “a drop or two of Tabasco,” was not included in the source list at the back of his daughter’s cookbook. Guess it’s who you know.

Palirria baked giant beans. $3 (10-ounce can). Valley Hye Armenian Market, 14845 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys, (818) 786-5271; also from Amazon.com and Parthenonfoods.com, both for $2.79 plus shipping.

-- Amy Scattergood