> Food and Nutrition > Whole Foods > beans and legumes

North Americans now recognize the importance of fibre in the diet. Legumes in their most simple, whole state are substantially nutritious and fill the need for a high-fibre, low-fat diet. Most require minimal preparation. Whole foods, in their utter simplicity, need only a few added ingredients that most people have in their kitchens.

Dried beans and peas, the fruits of leguminous plants, come in a vast array of colors, shapes and sizes. Cooked, they are delicious; [sprouted, the protein content is enhanced and when eaten raw, you get the important natural enzymes that help digestion]. They are a nourishing, versatile staple, each kind with its own flavor and texture. Cooked legumes can be added to everything from soup to stews, pizzas to salads, casseroles to vegetables. They can be mashed with potatoes or squash, formed into burgers or puréed as baby food.

Dried Beans

Legumes are delicious if they are prepared properly. Homegrown beans do not need as much soaking or cooking as purchased beans do. Relatively fresh beans absorb all the water they can in four hours.

Overnight soaking is convenient and probably necessary for store-bought beans, which may have been in storage for years. Soaking water should be three to four times the volume of beans. Wash the beans in a strainer and discard any debris. Place beans in a large pot to soak.

After soaking, drain and rinse the beans. Discard soaking liquid. Cover them with the same amount of fresh cold water. Do not add salt until beans are at the desired doneness. (Many ingredients tend to halt the tenderizing process. Likewise, sauces. It’s best to cook the beans, then season them or add them to a sauce.)

Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat and keep partially covered to prevent foaming. (Adding one tablespoon [15 mL] vegetable oil per cup of beans before cooking will also prevent foaming.) Soybeans, especially, tend to bubble up.

The texture of cooked beans greatly affects their appeal, so cooking time is important. Depending on the type of bean, how you’ll use it and the texture you want, you’ll cook beans for different lengths of time. Most homegrown beans do well with about 50 minutes and rarely need an hour. This leaves a little chewiness to complement their taste. Commercial varieties will likely take closer to two hours; chick peas may take longer; soybeans need about 90 minutes. A good test for doneness is to let a bean cool and press it lightly between the tongue and roof of the mouth. If it breaks easily, it’s done.

Beans and Vegetables Together

We like sautéing because direct heat brings out the vegetables’ oils, especially for potent ones like onions and garlic, yet allows harsher flavors to evaporate. A slow sauté at medium heat will bring veggies to their peak of flavor, which is sealed by a small portion of oil or butter. We generally use unsalted butter, olive or safflower oil. To reduce fat intake, sauté foods in a liquid (water, stock, low-sodium soy sauce) over medium heat. We often begin a sauté, then add a bit of liquid to finish the cooking. In all cases, stir frequently to prevent scorching or sticking and avoid overcooking! Vegetables should be on the crunchy side to retain nutrients. It’s for this reason that we seldom peel vegetables unless they have been waxed. Most nutrients are stored just beneath the skin.

A Word About Flatulence

Perhaps the simplest advice we can give about the gas factor in beans is to slow down, chew longer and give the digestive process a proper start. Be sure not to ingest soaking water (house plants like it) and if any difficulty persists, avoid liquids till at least 15 minutes after your meal. The other antidote is to grow your own beans–recently harvested ones are easier to digest and far superior nutritionally to the bulk bin varieties.

The Taste Test

Excerpted from The Really Whole Food Cookbook, Harbour Publishing, 1994.

Source: alive #213, July 2000