The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

COUNT ON BEANS TO SATISFY CRAVINGS

They’re a great resource in your kitchen for budget-minded cooking.

- By Virginia Willis For the AJC

Beans are fundamenta­l in many cuisines. Healthy and economical, they are a go-to in kitchens around the world.

France is famous for cassoulet. Latin food offers frijoles charros (cowboy beans), Moros y Cristianos (black beans and rice) and more. There are a multitude of Italian white bean dishes, including fagioli al fiasco, or beans cooked in a bottle nestled in the embers of a fire, and ribollita, a hearty bean vegetable stew. Senegalese cooking brings us ndambe, a spicy, hearty stew featuring black-eyed peas, tomatoes and potatoes.

Beans feed the world — and you can count on beans to be a great resource in your kitchen for budget-minded cooking.

I’ll often cook a pound of dried beans at the beginning of the week and reheat them over the next few days as a warm side dish,

toss cold into a salad or cook further for soup. They’re also a great protein for a healthy breakfast with an egg atop a tortilla.

Knowing how to cook dried beans gives you enormous maneuverab­ility in the kitchen. And having canned beans in your pantry can be a lifesaver at suppertime. Beans are infinitely adaptable, inexpensiv­e and nutritious.

Why are beans so good for you? Beans are seeds that contain the embryo of a future plant, so you get the nutrients the plant would use during its early stages of growth. Beans have been shown to have an important role in preventing illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. They are a low-fat source of protein, with high fiber content and a low glycemic index. Beans contain both soluble and insoluble fibers. The former helps to decrease blood cholestero­l levels and control blood sugar levels; the lat

ter helps with digestion and gut regularity.

Speaking of gut regularity, you may recall the children’s tune: “Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot.” The best way to prevent gassiness is to cook beans until completely cooked and tender.

Another common bean concern is to salt or not to salt. There are advocates on both sides. Some say salt can make the skins tough, especially with older beans, yet America’s Test Kitchen advocates to actually brine beans! I go with the advice of Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo Beans, who suggests salting the beans once the skins start to soften. The primary benefits of cooking with dried beans are that you can control not only the tenderness, but also the sodium content.

Dried beans and canned beans are comparable nutritiona­lly, apart from sodium. Typically, standard canned beans are higher in salt. Both have their pros and cons. Canned beans cost about three times as much as dried ones and vary a lot in texture and flavor from brand to brand. However, for convenienc­e, you can’t beat having a selection of canned beans in your pantry. Dried beans require longer cooking, and some recipes require soaking overnight or a quick soak when you bring beans to a boil and let them soak for one hour.

Cooking beans in a pressure cooker means there is no pre-soaking. It’s simple. One pound of beans plus 6 cups of liquid in an 8-quart Instant Pot takes 15 to 20 minutes to come to full pressure before cooking begins. Then 30 minutes to cook and 20 minutes to naturally release the pressure.

The recipes here call for a mixture of canned and dried: White Bean Toast, Lima Bean Soup, Lentil Loaf and Black Bean Brownies. For interchang­eability, remember 1 pound of dry edible beans yields about 6 cups of cooked beans, and 1 can of beans is about 1½ cups of drained cooked dried beans.

Knowing how to cook beans gives you enormous maneuverab­ility in the kitchen. This handy culinary skill helps with meal prep and gives you the ability to magically produce multiple meals out of a humble bag or can.

 ?? PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA WILLIS FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTI­ON ?? Black Bean Brownies (top right, clockwise), Lima Bean Soup, White Bean Toast and Lentil Loaf show the amazing versatilit­y of beans in recipes.
PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA WILLIS FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTI­ON Black Bean Brownies (top right, clockwise), Lima Bean Soup, White Bean Toast and Lentil Loaf show the amazing versatilit­y of beans in recipes.
 ?? ?? Lima Bean Soup is old-fashioned country cooking. Miso gives this soup a pop of savory umami.
Lima Bean Soup is old-fashioned country cooking. Miso gives this soup a pop of savory umami.

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