A Dietitians Guide to Cooking Dried Legumes
I’ll admit, when it comes to legumes, the canned ones are my go-to for a super quick delicious and nourishing meal. Beans, lentils and chickpeas truly are nuggets of nutritional gold. They are full of plant-based protein, iron, zinc and different fibres, all fantastic for gut health, immunity, weight management, lowering our risk of disease… the list goes on. Sadly, they are also hard to get your hands on in the current coronavirus crisis.
So if you still need your bean fix, pick up some dried legumes. These options are just as nutritionally powerful, cheaper and surprisingly require very little effort, just some extra time (which most of us have at the moment). Here’s our Dietitian-curated guide to cooking dried legumes.
STEP 1: SOAK
Pop your legumes into a saucepan, pour plenty of water on top (four cups per one cup of beans) and let sit overnight (or eight hours). This softens the legumes to reduce cooking time. It also reduces naturally-present “anti-nutrients” that block the absorption of iron and zinc. After soaking, give your legumes a rinse to wash away the “oligosaccharides” that leach into the soaking water. These are carbohydrates that can cause gas and bloating if we have too much. Note that lentils and split peas don’t need to be soaked as they cook fairly fast.
STEP 2: COOK
In your saucepan, cover the rinsed legumes with fresh water (around three cups per one cup of legumes), bring to a gentle boil on the stovetop, then simmer. You don’t want to rapidly boil! This will cause the legumes to break and turn mushy. Now sit back, set a timer for 30 minute intervals to check the legymes. The total cooking time can be anywhere between 30 minutes to over two hours depending on the bean size and it’s freshness.
STEP 3: FLAVOUR
If not being used in a specific recipe, you can flavour your legumes as they cook. After the first 30 minutes of simmering, throw in leftover herbs, spices, vegetable scraps, quartered onions or smashed garlic cloves. Think bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary, black peppercorns, celery leaves, get creative! But one to avoid is salt. This will toughen your legumes, meaning they will take longer to cook.
STEP 4: EAT
Once the legumes are tender (i.e. easily mashed with a fork), drain them and get ready to eat. If you don’t usually eat many legumes, try slowly adding them to your diet to prevent bloating, gas and discomfort. Legumes are a prebiotic, a good thing because they feed your gut bacteria. But bacteria create gas when well-fed, so start with just one tablespoon the first day and go from there.
STEP 5: STORE
Since dried legumes take time to cook (so extra electricity and gas!), cook up a large batch and rest assured they last in the fridge for up to four days. Still have too many? Pop them in the freezer once completely cooled where they will keep for months.
If you need meal inspiration, check out our Hearty Homemade Baked Beans, All in one Fish with Tomato and Beans or the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council’s tasty recipes and guidebook.
