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Legumes, Dried Beans, Peas & Lentils

On ABC NSW radio

We all should be eating more beans and legumes, but not sure how?  They are so versatile it is easier than you think to include in main and side dishes,  savoury and sweet.

Pulses are the edible seeds of leguminous plants, such as beans, peas and lentils. Usually filling, full of flavour and inexpensive.

• They are available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours and can be stored for long periods.
• Buy a variety of legumes like split peas, lentils, chick peas, red kidney beans, navy (haricot) beans, four bean mix and baked beans.
• If you don’t have the time to soak and cook legumes, use canned varieties, available in the canned food section of  supermarkets, or those packed in vacuum sealed bags, often from the health food section of the supermarket.

Kofta – can be made with ground meat and/or legumes

Why are they good to include for a healthy diet?

Legumes and beans are perfect staples for a healthy diet.

• high in fibre and protein
• low in fat
• low GI so digested slowly & raise blood sugar level gently, so often recommended for diabetics
• The protein in legumes is incomplete, but when combined with grains, present a perfectly balanced protein, making beans and grains dishes ideal food for vegans and vegetarians.

Buying and Storing Beans and Legumes

How are they sold? Dried, canned, vacuumed sealed packs.

What’s the shelf life?

Dried legumes, beans and lentils have a shelf life of a year, but do get drier, less flavour and tougher as they age, so older beans will require more soaking and longer cook times. They will have less flavour than fresh dried legumes and lentils.

How should they be stored?

Store in a cool, dry place in a covered container.

Do dried beans need soaking before cooking?

• Dried beans and legumes should be rinsed, checked for stones or debris, and then soaked in cold water for 4 to 24 hours. Lentils require no soaking.

• Beans with thin skins require less soaking, eg. adzuki , black-eyed beans and mung beans.

• You won’t have to soak your beans but it helps speed up cooking time considerably. The easiest method is to place the beans in a bowl, and cover them with water. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

• To speed the soaking process: heat a pan of beans or legumes in water to boiling, boil for two to three minutes, remove from the heat, cover and soak    them for an hour in the water. Drain and cook.  While this quick method works well, it may result in some of the beans breaking apart or skins splitting.

• Never soak dried beans for more than 24 hours unless specifically directed by a recipe. Soaking beans for too long can cause fermentation. Fermentation can cause digestion issues resulting in discomfort and gas.

• Never cook beans in the same water they are soaked in as the water may contain gas producing sugars that can cause digestive problems. Discard the used water, rinse the beans and place them in a saucepan filled with fresh water.

• Add enough water to cover beans by about 5cm water.

• To help soften a full pack of dried product, add 2 teaspoons of Bi-Carb soda to the water whilst soaking the product (water level should cover the product by 5cms).  After soaking, rinse off thoroughly before cooking.

Should dried beans be cooked with salt?

Don’t add salt or the skins will toughen and lengthens the cooking time.

Cooking dried beans

• Cover the soaked beans with cold water (covering beans by 5cm), slowly bring to a boil, then simmer until tender.

Note: Red kidney beans should be boiled for 10 minutes, change the water and simmer in fresh water for 45-60 minutes, until tender.

• Suggested cooking time is usually between 40 – 60 minutes

• Beans increase in size by about 2-3 times after cooking.

• Dried beans can also be cooked in a pressure cooker, microwave or slow cooker.

• If you have hard water, add a bit of baking soda to the water to soften the beans.

Can canned be substituted for dried beans?

• Many types of beans and legumes are available canned, ready to add to dishes or simply heated and served as a side dish.

• Canned beans don’t need to be soaked or cooked, just rinsed and heated through.

• Some brands use more salt than others, so always check the label.

• Canned beans tend to be saltier with less flavour than reconstituted dried beans.

How long can beans be kept once cooked?

• Cooked beans and lentils can be refrigerated for four to five days.

• Once opened, canned legumes can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for seven days.

• Freeze cooked beans and lentils for 3 months.

Lentils

The lentil plant (Lens Culinaris) belongs to the family Leguminosae (legume)  and is a cousin to peas. The plants are grown for their seeds, which are contained in pods.

Dahi Vada or Dahi Bara – an Indian dish made with urad dal ( black lentils without skin) washed and soaked for 3-4 hours or overnight

How to Cook Lentils

One advantage of lentils over other legumes is that they do not require soaking. They can be soaked for a few hours but is not really necessary. Soaking will reduce the cooking time by about half.

Before cooking lentils, rinse them in cold water and pick through them for any debris or small stones.  When cooking lentils by themselves, use 3 times the amount of water to lentils and avoid cooking with anything acidic, such as vinegar, as it retards the cooking process.  One type of lentil can be substituted for another in recipes but cooking time may need to be adjusted.

Cooking times will depend on preferred texture. Well cook lentils & mash, shorter cooking time lentils will keep their shape.

Cooking times for the main three types of lentils are:

Brown Lentils – 35 minutes

Red Lentils – 10-15 minutes

Puy (green) Lentils – 20 minutes

Lentils cook more slowly if they’re combined with salt or acidic ingredients, so add these last.  Bigger or older lentils take longer to cook.

Store dried lentils for up to a year in a cool, dry place.

Know Your Beans and Legumes

Black Beans
Black beans are famous as the mainstay in black bean soup, a natural accompaniment to rice and a filling in burritos and other Latin food. They’re available both canned and dried in most grocery stores.

Black-Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas are commonly used in South American dishes and as side dishes.

Broad Beans – see fava beans

Cannellini bean = white kidney bean = fazolia bean

Favoured in Mediterranean dishes, salads, soups such as minestrone.

Fava Beans

Also known as broad beans. These delicious beans are also an excellent source of fibre, niacin, iron and vitamin C.

Fresh young fava beans need only be shelled, but mature beans must also be peeled to rid them of a waxy skin that surrounds each bean.  The best way to do this is to blanch the shelled beans for a minute in boiling water, then plunge them into cold water, and then pull off the skins.

To prepare broad beans simply remove the pods from the shell and boil or microwave until just tender. Broad beans are delicious, served simply with a little butter and pepper, in salads, casseroles or soups.

Garbanzo Beans
Also called chickpeas. These acorn-shaped, yellow legumes are used in soups and as the base for hummus, a popular Middle Eastern spread.

Haricot Bean

These small white beans are commonly used to make baked beans, but they’re also good in soups and salads and the classic French Cassoulet dish.  They are relatively difficult to digest. Also known as Boston or Navy Bean.

Kidney Beans
Versatile kidney beans come in a variety of colors: red, dark red and white. The red varieties are mealy, slightly sweet and are typically used in chilli dishes, as fillers in soups, salads and in refried beans.

The white variety is milder and can become creamy when cooked well. This variety is used in Italian dishes.

Lentils
Tiny, available in different colours with a nutty taste. No need to soak lentils before cooking. Used in casseroles, stews, soups and salads.

Puy Lentils (French style Lentils)

French style Lentils are a lentil variety now grown in Australia. Renowed for their deep nutty flavour and holding their shape when cooked these lentils are perfect for salads or served with meat or fish.

Lima Beans
Buttery flavour, large and can be either light green or cream coloured. Often cooked with bacon and served as a side dish.

The biggest downside is that lima beans are harder to digest than other beans.

Mung Beans
Tiny beans commonly used in Asian dishes. Whole mung beans are small and green, and they’re often sprouted to make bean sprouts.  When skinned and split, the beans are flat and yellow, and called moong dal.

Mung beans available in several colours, such as green, black, brown and red. The red beans, also called Adzuki beans, are used to make bean paste, a sweet paste used in Asian pastries.

Navy Bean – see haricot bean

Soya Beans

The beans need to be soaked a long time and are somewhat hard to digest, but they’re extremely nutritious and extremely versatile. It is used to make salad oil, tofu, soy sauce, meat substitutes, soy milk, cheese and tempeh.

Split Peas
Used as the basis of split pea soup with ham, onion, bay leaf. Available in yellow or green.

Suggestions for Adding More Beans and Legumes in Your Diet

Recipe suggestions:

• Spinach chickpea dip (or Hummus)
• Couscous, chickpeas & roasted pumpkin
• Pumpkin & lentil curry (from Rice Cooker book by Brigid Treloar)
• Salad of new potatoes, crumbled pancetta, broadbeans and mint

• Use pureed lentils and beans to thicken soups and sauces.
• Add beans and legumes to almost any soup eg. Split pea soup with ham
• As a substitute for meat in many dishes
• Beans are the perfect accompaniment to many Mexican dishes (eg. burritos, tacos and enchiladas)

• Add to Middle Eastern dishes (eg. on their own or with couscous) or to the French Cassoulet dish
• Cold bean salads are refreshing in the summer
• Baked beans as an accompaniment to barbequed ribs
• Try the classic red beans and rice seasoned with sausage

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