Know your beans: How to spot store, soak and cook beans and pulses
When you’re watching your spending, dried beans and pulses make perfect sense. Here's tips and recipes on how to make the best use of these storecupboard staples.
Know your beans
Flageolet beans
Small pastel-green beans, traditionally served with lamb, mint and cream. Recipes.
Borlotti beans
Grown in Italy, these pretty beans are pale beige with red marbled veins. Recipes.
Haricot beans
Small, squat, pale and creamy beans – the classic baked bean. Recipes.
Butter beans
Plump and creamy white, these beans are full of meaty, mealy flavour. Recipes.
Kidney beans
These have a toxin in them, so never use the soaking water for cooking. Recipes.
Chickpeas
Popular in Moroccan cooking, these have a lovely nutty flavour. Recipes.
Black turtle beans
Shiny, ebony black and kidney shaped; swap them for kidney beans. Recipes.
Pinto beans
Pretty coloured beans with thin red veins – think refried beans. Recipes.
Cannellini beans
Similar to haricot, these pale beans are a staple in Italian cookery. Recipes.
Black eye beans
Pale, kidney-shaped beans with black eyes, often used in Caribbean food. Recipes.
Storing and cooking beans
Store beans at room temperature in a glass or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. They will keep for 6-9 months, but they do toughen a little over time, so the longer you keep them, the longer you will have to cook them.
After soaking the beans, drain the water, place the beans in a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water, adding flavourings such as onion, garlic and fresh herbs – no salt though at this stage as it toughens the skins. Cook the beans for between 45 minutes and couple of hours, depending on their size. Once they’re cooked, season well to taste.
Soaking beans
As a rule of thumb, the bigger the bean, the longer the soaking and cooking time. The process of soaking simply softens the skin and stops splitting during cooking. There are two methods of soaking: long-soaking, which takes time but requires little effort, and quick-soaking – perfect for when you want to cook the beans within a couple of hours.
For long-soaking, soak the beans in a bowl of water at room temperature, overnight or for 8-10 hours. Never soak for longer than 12 hours, or the beans will lose their texture and flavour. For dinner, start soaking in the morning; for lunch, start soaking the night before.
Quick-soaking rehydrates beans in little more than an hour. Put the beans in a pan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Take off the heat, cover and stand for 1 hour. At the end of the hour, discard the water and cook the beans as per your recipe.
Baked beans
Home-made baked beans are simple to make and surpass the canned versions for taste and price. Make up a big batch and freeze in portions for up to 3 months.
Two-bean soup with fresh pesto
A hearty, fresh soup full of rustic Italian flavours. For tips on types of beans and how to store, soak and cook them, visit our Know How page.
Butter bean and chorizo stew
A deliciously warming and moreish stew that is, quite unbelievably, low in calories per serving! For tips on types of beans and how to store, soak and cook them, visit our Know How page.
Chickpea, goat’s cheese and rocket salad
This dish is great as a starter, or serve bigger portions for a hearty lunch with crusty bread. Try adding blanched, toasted and chopped hazelnuts to the salad for added crunch.
Quick houmous
A quick and easy recipe for every vegetarian's friend – houmous.
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