Dried legumes are truly essential foods because they keep for a long time, are rich in nutrients and are suitable for any season.
Among the most popular legumes are certainly beans, chickpeas and lentils.
How to prepare legumes?
First, soak.
Take our legumes, place them in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of cold water. The soaking time is at least 12 hours, so we soak the legumes the night before to cook them the next day.
Then rinse the legumes well under running water and place them in a large pot and cover them again with fresh water (avoid cooking them using the soaking water).
Add salt to the cooking water only at the end, once the legumes are cooked. Add a pinch of baking soda, which aids cooking, and a bay leaf, which adds flavor and helps eliminate unpleasant odors.
We light the fire and let the legumes cook for a variable time depending on the legume you choose:
Purgatory beans, yellow, greenish, zolfini (60/75 minutes – without soaking)
Borlotti, cannellini, black, black-eyed, and red beans (50/60 minutes – soak for 12 hours)
Lentils (25/30 minutes – without soaking)
Hulled lentils (15/20 minutes – without soaking)
Chickpeas (60/75 minutes – soaked for 12 hours in water + a spoonful of coarse salt/bicarbonate of soda)
Black chickpeas (75/90 minutes – soaked for 12 hours in water + a tablespoon of coarse salt/bicarbonate of soda)
Cicerchia (75/90 minutes – soaked for 24 hours in water + a spoonful of coarse salt/bicarbonate of soda)
Split broad beans (40/50 minutes – without soaking)
Split peas (50/60 minutes – without soaking)
Farro del Pungolo / Pearled Farro (25/30 minutes – without soaking)
Millet (15/20 minutes – without soaking)
Pearl barley (20/25 minutes – without soaking)
Brigand's Soup / Maremma Soup / Cerqueto Soup (50/60 minutes – without soaking)
Advice:
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avoid hard water for cooking because it could make the legumes hard and difficult to cook;
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do not add cold water during cooking (if necessary, add hot water);
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Check the legumes occasionally during cooking: if any foam rises to the surface of the water, simply take a slotted spoon and remove it immediately.
