Monday, August 29, 2011

Spill the beans...

Did you know that there are produced almost 20 million metric tons of beans in the world each year? How amazing is that? Then, come to think of it, beans are actually eaten all over the world in one form or another...

I like beans, peas and lentils. They are good for so much, they are both nutritious and tasty. And ever so versatile.

I often use them in my Indian cooking. The red lentils (with the hull left on) with garlic, ginger and butter. The chickpeas pan roasted with any masala really, or in a biryani or vegetable curry.


A quick way to make a nice salad is to just toss in some fava beans or kidney beans. No need to ad neither meat or chicken since the beans will absolutely fill you up!

One of my favorite beans of all is the Japanese edamame bean. I buy it frozen and still in it's pod, cook it briefly in heavily salted water. After shelling the beans I just drizzle some lemon oil on and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt flakes.

Baked beans with fried "falu" sausage is a childhood favorite that I have passed on to my son.

Also the sprouts are exceptionally nice in a stir fry or a sukiyaki.

A little tip, if you boil your own beans, (the canned ones are terrific too), chuck in a piece of raw potato, it will make the hull soften...




Oh, and the red lentils you don't even have to boil, just put them in a bowl of water during the night and they will be superb to eat as they are or flavor to taste.



1 comment:

  1. 20 million tons?!?! Thanks for all the fun and interesting facts.

    ReplyDelete

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