Today, we are talking about pulses, with OttimoBlog’s practical guide on how-to prep and cook legumes. We spill the beans 😉 about tips and trick on how-to prep and cook them, and… how-to minimise the risk of flatulence 🤭

Legumes are the edible seeds of plants belonging to the Leguminosae family, an excellent protein alternative and a good way to vary our diet, especially if we want to reduce or eliminate animal protein.

The most widely used (at least in Italy) are chickpeas, lentils and beans of various types.

Welcome to our how-tos + techniques zone, the fruit (and veggies) of the collaboration between ottimoblog.com and appetibilis.net | Here happily edited and translated by Orsola 😀

One of the key – visible – difference between them is the type of skin, apart from the organoleptic characteristics that determine their taste and texture, this is what sets them apart. For example, the skin of chickpeas and beans is thick and may irritates the intestinal mucosa. Lentils, on the other hand, have a more delicate skin that is easier to digest and may not cause flatulence we fear so much.

About legumes, pulses and beans

Legumes are a nutritious staple in diets around the world and, according to Harvard T.H. Chan, School of Public Health, whereas the terms “legumes,” “pulses,” and “beans” are used interchangeably, they have different meanings.

• A legume is any plant from the Fabaceae family.
• A pulse is a legume seed, like beans, lentils and peas. For instance, a pea pod is a legume, but the pea inside is the pulse.
• And beans are just one type of pulse

Here’s their article about Legumes and Pulses

The presence of indigestible sugars (oligosaccharides such as raffinose, stachyose and verbascose) is another factor that causes discomfort. These sugars reach the large intestine unaltered where they are fermented by the local flora, thus creating some flatulence.

Tips 💡

Seemingly, eating raw vegetables before legumes helps to avoid those annoying intestinal gases. Raw vegetables contain enzymes that help us digest food.

How-to prep and cook legumes

Bean cooking is easy: it’s just a matter of time! Here’re some tips on how-to prep and cook legumes, and benefit nutritionally.

If you never ate these ingredients, you should start by introducing them gradually. Choose the more digestible varieties, such as hulled red lentils (or even the whole ones).

Among beans, the easier ones are the green azuki beans (Vigna angularis L.) and fagioli dell’occhio – called black eye peas, although, are actually beans.

In any case, remember that the intestine needs time to get used to it (as with any new food we introduce).

Step 1 Prepping

There are tricks that make cooking easier, while helping your body to digest food more effectively. Following are the basic steps.

1. First thing first is soaking the dried pulses for the right amount of time (check below) – usually starting a day or two before cooking.
   • Use plenty of cold water when soaking, and remember that as they rehydrate, they’ll double in size
2. Change the water frequently. If it’s really hot in the room, change the water once or twice to stop fermentation, or pop the bowl in the fridge.
3. It’s not a good idea to use bicarbonate of soda, as it depletes the legumes of vitamin B and alters their taste. However, if beans make you uncomfortably bloated, sprinkle just a hint into their soaking water.

The soaking time depends on the type of legume. Here some examples:

• 24 hours for whole broad beans
• 12 hours for chickpeas
• 8 hours of borlotti beans
• 6 hours for cannellini
• 2 – 3 hours for lentils or mung beans

Tips 💡

Here are a few tips to help you out:

• If you’re short on time, you can skip the soaking step for lentils, but it’s always a good idea to do it for at least half an hour.
• The same goes for hulled lentils and split peas.
• Once you’ve soaked them, always drain the pulses from the water. And use fresh one for cooking!

Step 2 Cooking and Timing

To get the best results when cooking the beans, start with plenty of cold water and then follow these steps:

1. Skimming
   • Once boiling is reached, it may be necessary to skim. This helps to get rid of any purines (an unhealthy compound when consumed in excess).
2. Kombu
   • Add a piece of Kombu (seaweed) when cooking. It’s rich in potassium and phosphorus, which makes the legumes softer and easier to digest.
   • 2 – 3 cm should be enough, after soaking it for 10 minutes in cold water.
3. Temperature
   • The pulses must be cooked on a very low heat, with the water gently boiling.
   • If you need to add water during cooking, it must be hot, otherwise you risk blocking the process.
4. Salt
   • It’s really important to add it at the end, as it helps to firm up the skin. As soon as it’s cooked, turn off the heat, add the salt and let it rest for half an hour. This gives the salt time to be absorbed.
5. Tomato, Yes or No?
   • I know tomatoes are acidic, but I’ve found that adding them at the end works well. I don’t use them myself, but you never know until you try!
6. The best pot for the job is…
   • the crock pot, it maintains a uniform temperature, so your food will always be cooked just right.
   • Alternatively, a stainless steel pot with a thick bottom will do the trick.
   • If you want to cut cooking time in half, go for a pressure cooker.

Cooking Time

• whole broad beans (5 – 6 hours)
• chickpeas (2 – 3 hours)
• the beans (1 – 2 hours)
• mung beans (40 mins. – 1 hour)
• the lentils (20 – 30 min)

Tips 💡

While cooking, do not stir the pulses. Do it only at the end, and with a wooden spoon.

How-To Store Legumes

What’s the best way to store pulses? Cooked pulses can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days. You can also freeze them, perhaps in single portions.
As for cereals, you can find our guide Cereali – li sai cucinare? (in Italian).

Tips 💡

When you find fresh pulses like borlotti or peas, you can shell and freeze them raw. They’re great to add to minestrone straight from the freezer, or use them however you like!

Now that you have all the tips on how best to cook pulses, you have no more excuses. You can easily incorporate them into your diet. There are so many ways to eat pulses: in salads, in soups, in the form of soup with cereals, or even to make vegetable burgers.

I’d like to share two of our favourite simple and tasty recipes with you:

• Chickpea hummus, with variations.
• Creme di verdure spalmabili con oli essenziali (Vegetable creams with essential oils, in Italian only)

I hope you enjoy them, and Buon Appetibilis!

Here’s the link to the original post in Italian: La guida pratica su come cucinare i legumi

More on How-To(s)

It’s September and we’re back to… (work)

How to cook and store vegetables

How to pick and cut vegetables

Simona Scarone

Cucina, corsi, oli essenziali.
Insegno a cucinare in modo sano, testo e invento ricette “plant based” anche in video.
Scrivo racconti di cucina e non solo.

Cuisine, cooking lessons, essential oils.
I teach healthy cooking, test and create “plant based” recipes, also on video.
I write about food, and other stories.