Many people who want to exclude meat from the diet replace animal proteins with vegetable ones. The best alternative to meat snacks is a salad with beans. The simplest recipe consists of beans with herbs and olive oil. And how many delicious dishes you can cook from beans to the festive table!
It is believed that legumes smashed into Europe from South America during the time of Columbus. However, archaeologists claim that both Ancient India and China grew beans on their lands. The Greeks, Romans and Persians, before our era, served bean dishes to the table .
Nowadays it is impossible to imagine the traditional dishes of Italy, Greece, Spain and other countries without bean dishes. And in the 16-17th century it was grown exclusively for decorative purposes in flowerbeds and in greenhouses. In the northern latitudes, beans, called Turkish beans, took root for a long time and did not enjoy popularity. But the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia willingly included it in their menu. A large number of types of beans (now cultivated about 200) allow you to choose those that meet exactly your taste preferences.
Now in many cuisines of the world there are a large number of authentic dishes in which beans are placed. Having opened any culinary book of European cuisine, you can always find a salad with beans. The recipe is usually simple and quick to prepare. Beans - a valuable protein product - 24 grams of protein per 100 grams of product - and goes well with vegetables, mushrooms, meat, herbs.
To maintain health and get the maximum amount of vitamins that are contained in beans, it is better to cook it yourself. But if you are forced to use canned food, choose those where, in addition to salt, water and, in fact, beans, there are no other ingredients. Beans are a favorite product of vegetarians and devotees of a healthy diet.
What is the use of beans? These beans are rich in a whole complex of B vitamins and folic acid. Fiber, which is found in legumes (including beans), is useful to everyone who wants to improve the functioning of the stomach and intestines. Beans are a real storehouse of valuable trace elements: calcium, magnesium, iron. Carbohydrates contained in beans do not cause an increase in blood sugar. Due to the low glycemic index, beans are part of the diet menu, everyone who controls their weight.
The subtleties of cooking beans
Many cookbooks advise to soak all the beans for 5 hours before cooking. It is better to pour the beans with water in the evening. Beans should be boiled in fresh cold water, draining all the liquid in which it was soaked. The pre-soaking process allows you to speed up the cooking time up to one hour and remove not very useful oligosaccharides, which cause bloating and complicate digestion.
If you want to make a salad with beans, the recipe is not difficult to find. And beans can be cooked without soaking. This requires washed beans to pour cold water, bring to a boil and drain. Pour cold water into the beans again. And already cook the beans in it until tender, until it becomes completely soft.
You need to salt at the very end of cooking
Having at hand boiled or canned beans, you can always cook a salad, side dish or paste.
Also, delicious and healthy soups are prepared from beans. The recipe of an old bean soup with smoked sausage is still popular in Polish cuisine. In Italy, beans take pride of place on the dining table. Stunningly delicious soup is served for lunch in Florence. It is made from beans and wild mushrooms, usually chanterelles. The aroma of this magic soup comes from many restaurants and cuisines of hospitable citizens.
Fans of mushrooms can be advised salad with beans, the recipe of which does not require much time. For a salad with beans and wild mushrooms or mushrooms, you need 1 large glass of beans, 200 grams of mushrooms, chopped finely, one large or medium sized celery root, 2 eggs.
Dressing: 50 grams of mayonnaise or sour cream, 200 grams of ketchup or other tomato sauce. Add salt, herbs and pepper as desired.
Boil beans, celery root, mushrooms and eggs. Finely chop the chilled products, put in a salad bowl and mix thoroughly with the sauce. Tasty bean salad is ready.
In summer, you should cook a simple salad with beans and chillies.
Small beans (preferably white) -300 grams, red pepper 2 pods or two fresh tomatoes, one large clove of garlic, in which it is better to remove the core. Two medium or one large red onion. Dressing: juice of half a lemon a little pepper, salt, pumpkin seed oil or olive. Combine boiled beans with chopped peppers or tomatoes. Add mashed garlic, diced, onion. Add dressing before serving.
Bean dishes are delicious, healthy and original.