pulses are an amazing source of plant-based protein (to fully benefit of which always remember to couple them with some cereals, like rice or pasta).

we prefer to use dry pulses than canned ones: they are cheaper, they have less packaging, and you can choose the texture you prefer (we often find canned pulses too soft for our taste). they are very easy to cook, but it takes a long time: we usually cook a lot of them at once (1kg of dry pulses) and then freeze them in bags of two abundant portions (between 200g and 250g of cooked pulses).

beans and chickpeas

1. soak the dry beans (any kind) or chickpeas in abundant water for at least one night, we normally put them in water in the evening and cook them the afternoon of the next day. their volume will then have at least doubled.

2. rinse them well.

3. put them in a pot with abundant cold water and warm them up. when the water boils, lower the heat and cover. after one hour taste them: the exact time will depend on their size and on your taste. they may cook for up to 1 hour and a half.

   note: if your beans or chickpeas are decorticated, 20 minutes should be enough.

4. add salt to the water when they are almost ready.

5. drain and rinse the pulses when desired texture is reached.

6. divide the cooked pulses in portions (single, double, for the family…), put them in containers appropriate for freezing (bags, tupperwares, jars - if they are made of glass do not fill them entirely because their volume will expand and the jar might break!) and store them in the freezer.

7. when needed, defrost them: you can either remove them from the freezer the day before and keep them in the fridge to defrost slowly or defrost them in the microwave to have them ready to eat in a few minutes!

lentils

• small lentils (green, brown, red): they do not require soaking. they cook in boiling water for 15/20 minutes or in “risotto-style” for 20/25 minutes. “risotto style” means you sauté onions (with chili pepper, celery and carrots if you have them and like them) for a few minutes, then add the lentils. add hot vegetable broth little by little, as the lentils absorb it. the result will be more creamy than boiled lentils.

• decorticated lentils: they are normally red/coral lentils. they cook by water/broth absorption, the ratio is 1(lentils):2(liquid). the result is extremely creamy as they tend to get undone.

• big lentils (green, brown): if your lentils are big, soak them for at least 3 hours, this will shorten cooking time. then cook them as small lentils.