All sorts of beans

[Joanbunting Profile]

Chick peas are an absolute staple in this part of Provence. They are used in most fast day meals along with salt cod. I'm fine with them in any form and always have some in the store cupboard.

[Sakkarin Profile]

This thread has prompted me to get out the bag of dried fava?/broad beans that have been lurking in my cupboard for ages.

I made some "broad bean hummus", but I didn't find it quite as tasty as the chick pea version, and it turned out quite dry. I've still had a couple of toasted pittas full of it though.

The rest I will make into fake falafel tomorrow, I am pretty sure it is firm enough to withstand frying.

Or maybe I'll have a bash tonight.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I make broad bean hummus - I think the key is to add a bit more garlic and lots of lemon juice.
I´d agree, though, Sakks - it´s not as punchy as the original!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Well, the big bowl of soaking judions were turned into a very creamy soup ( well, the ones left after my picking one or two every time I passed by) & very welcome it was to come home to a steaming bowlful last night!


Blk beans were put to soak this morning for summat over the weekend.

I sometimes make a red lentil hummus, & me being me, a very spicy one, & the tahini really comes through.


Did I say I lurve beans...…..?

[Sakkarin Profile]

For the record, this is the recipe I used as a starting point:
https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes/f ... -ful-nabed

The reason I've reposted is that I always assumed it was only kidney beans that are dodgy if you don't prepare them properly. I was intrigued to read that the same applies to fava beans, "It is important to use a fresh batch of water for cooking; the soaking water contains oligosaccharides, released from the beans during soaking, that can lead to digestive discomfort."

I had only halfheartedly rinsed the beans at the point I read that, and they were already on the boil - I stopped the process midway and thoroughly rinsed them, before continuing the cooking.

https://toriavey.com/how-to/fava-beans- ... el-freeze/

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I think the “digestive discomfort” caused by fava oligosaccharides is probably an order of magnitude less than that caused by the lectins in kidney beans.

The fava beans will send your gut bacteria into overdrive but the kidney bean lectins can actually damage the gut wall

Rose Eliot recommends cooking all soaked pulses in fresh water to reduce the risk of gas from indigestible oligo saccharides, and I think she has a point

Of course if you have favism (glucose 6 phosphatase deficiency) then fava beans are toxic to you but only if you lack the enzyme, not a common problem in people of N European origin but can be quite common in parts of Africa and Asia

[Rainbow Profile]

I think the “digestive discomfort” caused by fava oligosaccharides is probably an order of magnitude less than that caused by the lectins in kidney beans.

The fava beans will send your gut bacteria into overdrive but the kidney bean lectins can actually damage the gut wall

Rose Eliot recommends cooking all soaked pulses in fresh water to reduce the risk of gas from indigestible oligo saccharides, and I think she has a point

Of course if you have favism (glucose 6 phosphatase deficiency) then fava beans are toxic to you but only if you lack the enzyme, not a common problem in people of N European origin but can be quite common in parts of Africa and Asia

Good points, Sue.
I always take Rose Elliot's recommendation and cook beans in fresh water after soaking - just seems a good way to go and you don't have to think about 'which sort of bean do I need to rinse'!!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

I always rinse dried beans really well in a colander under a running tap a few times before soaking & then again after throwing the soaking water away - it makes sense.

[Joanbunting Profile]

WE've just had our first fresh baby broad beans with the main course at lunch. So small you couldn't possibly have peeled them but what a wondeful taste of spring, eapecially as we were outside and the temperature was 21C

[jeral Profile]

How lovely, Joanbunting. It's often "a mouthful of skins" that puts me off with beans; my teeth have lost that grinding baby sharpness.

I did wonder how one could use the liquid in tins of chickpeas to reduce and mimic egg white for meringues. I suppose because they're cooked.

I also wondered about ice glaze on frozen prawns etc. Why does it say to always to rinse that off? It can't be because it might present a danger if not rinsed off as they wouldn't be on sale at all if that were so.

Back on beans, I do tend to prefer tinned for the mealy sort (cooked and suitable serving size and importantly stay in the tin if one changes their mind the next day after soaking dried, lol). I'm lucky in that a local shop has more varieties than you could shake a stick at.

I do like sprouted (in a colander after soaking) mung beans (sort of nutty and pea-y taste) and the sprouting shoots/leaves if Batchelors' dried peas are planted.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Ive got the first of the season's fresh broad beans. I'm serving them with veal escallops with a morel and brandy cream sauce and some creamy polenta. I'm drooling already I adore fresh braod beans

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I'm just planting out broad beans, the first lot last week, the second this afternoon, the rest over the next couple of weeks. It'll be a while yet before we're drooling!

However, I hope you enjoy yours and they're as delicious as you're anticipating, Joan

[jeral Profile]

On waiting for things to grow, I recall showing my little one (years ago now) the new sproutings in the garden. Strawberries: "Can we eat them?" "Yes, when they grow bigger." Beans: Same Q & A.
Then, "What's that?" "It's a spider." "Can we eat it?" then frustratedly "Oh, don't tell me, we have to wait till it's bigger, tsk" and promptly lost interest. Bless.

[Renee Profile]

Oh jeral! What a lovely funny story!!

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

When it comes to beans, I love runner and haricot verts, and most of the pulse beans apart from butter and canellini beans. I was also brought up on baked beans and still, enjoy the low sugar and salt variety now. I made the recipe in the link below for my lunch today as I am off work this week. I did tweak it a little though, by using my own spice blend of chilli jam, cumin, coriander seed and turmeric. As I had some leftover tinned tomatoes (about half a tin), I bunged that in and finished it off with some caramelised aubergine cubes. I felt that the tomatoes and aubergine helped offset the sweetness from the parsnip and apple. I didn't bother blending it either. I really enjoyed it, because the soup with my tweakings had a lovely freshness to it.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cur ... apple-soup

[Alexandria Profile]

Jeral,

Cute anecdote ..