Pulses quick questions thread.

zippychick

Ive merged this with pulses quick questions. I often find Chickpeas turn out better having soaked longer - again on previous advice from Swan!

RachelS

Thankyou very much all! That's great.

ceridwen

I've got myself organised (sometimes.....) into soaking and cooking up batches of dried pulses in my slowcooker and then putting them into bags in one portion size amounts in the freezer.

Can I go on beyond this and make life even easier for myself - by just taking a bag of them (be it dried cooked beans or lentils) out of the freezer and just putting them straight into anything I am cooking with them? Does anyone do this successfully?

I am hoping that I can forget about having to take a bag out of the freezer hours in advance and leaving it to defrost - by just adding them direct straight from the freezer.

....that would then remove all temptation to buy cans of ready-cooked beans:D

Pink.

Hi ceridwen,

If they are pre-cooked and frozen, yes you can add them directly to whatever meal you are cooking. I would do it at the beginning of cooking as adding frozen pulses will make a difference to the temperature if you add them later on.

I'll add your query to the Pulses quick questions thread. later as your question may help others.

Pink

zippychick

ceridwen wrote: »

I've got myself organised (sometimes.....) into soaking and cooking up batches of dried pulses in my slowcooker and then putting them into bags in one portion size amounts in the freezer.

Can I go on beyond this and make life even easier for myself - by just taking a bag of them (be it dried cooked beans or lentils) out of the freezer and just putting them straight into anything I am cooking with them? Does anyone do this successfully?

I am hoping that I can forget about having to take a bag out of the freezer hours in advance and leaving it to defrost - by just adding them direct straight from the freezer.

....that would then remove all temptation to buy cans of ready-cooked beans:D

Yep, i pour boiling water over them if i have time, or else just chuck them into what ever im cooking. Chickpeas are especially good for this. By soaking them in kettle boiled water a few mins, I then eat them. Actually never occured to me to wonder if there was a fod safety issue there! IRONY!!!!!!:rotfl:

rosie383

I do this all the time. I never defrost them, ever.

oldtractor

anyone else remember black peas? boiled until soft and eaten with salt pepper and vinegar,could sometimes get them from market stalls. I like chick peas done the same way. yummmmmmmmmm . Has anyone any recipes for pulses? and barley, like barley boiled in veg stock and herbs and served with veg instead of potatoes? old ideas welcomed.

hitatotatus

http://turmericsaffron.blogspot.com/2010/01/barley-stew-with-beans-herbs-ash-e-jo.html

Barley Stew with Beans & Herbs (Ash-e Jo)

This is a really tasty dish.
You can replace the kashk with plain yoghurt or sour cream, or leave it out altogether.
For those who don't know, cilantro is coriander.:D
You do not have to stick to any of the ingredients as it tastes great with substitutions for the herbs, you could use spinach, parsley, anything green, tasty and fragrant really and you can really use any amount and type of pulses/beans.
This is great in a big pot and then you can use up for several days, adding water to thin out as the beans really soak up the liquid.
You can make it vegetarian or use meat bones in the cooking to add flavour.

PipneyJane

This is one my favourites. It's based on a recipe from Epicurious:-

Chickpea and Chorizo Stew

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red jalapeno chillies sliced
100g/4oz chorizo, diced
450g cooked chickpeas (drained weight)
1 large bunch of spinach roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
500ml chicken stock
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice (preferably use a boiling potato)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan/stew pot. Fry the onion and chorizo together until the fat starts running from the chorizo (it will be red-ish).
2. Add the garlic and chillies. Fry for two or three more minutes.
3. Add the stock, chickpeas, potato, spinach and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes or until the the potato is cooked and at least half of the liquid has evaporated. The dish should look stew-like not soupy.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve in deep soup plates. Goes well with good bread.

lucy_lemon

And it was great! Took a little longer than a normal risotto to cook, but it tasted really good. I think I got the recipe from All Recipes.