I give the method for cooking dried beans here, and once you make them, you’ll see how easy it is to have cooked beans on hand to enrich the plant protein in all sorts of dishes. If you are using the beans for a spread or dip, cook them until soft, otherwise for salads and soups or other cooked dishes, cook them just until tender and add to the dish in the last minutes of cooking.
You may choose to stock cooked canned beans for convenience, but be sure that there is no BPA (a chemical used in plastic food containers and tin linings). If it doesn’t have the “BPA-free” claim on the label, the food may contain levels of up to 200 times government guidelines for safe exposure.
How to Cook Dried Beans from Scratch
Makes about 3 cups cooked beans
1 cup raw, dried beans (chickpeas, red or black kidney beans, or other variety, sorted and washed)
6 cups water
1. Put the beans and water in a large saucepan or stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Turn the heat off, leave the pot on the burner, and let sit for 1 hour.
2. Drain, rinse, and return the beans to the saucepan. Fill the pan with cool water until it rises 2 inches over the top of the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until tender, 60 to 90 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry. Transfer the beans to a lidded container or zip-top bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
As always, you are in control: add more liquids for a dip or less liquids to achieve a thicker spread.
Makes 3 cups
2 cups cooked beans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup tahini sauce
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the walnuts, garlic, tahini sauce, lemon juice, lemon rind, oil, and tamari. Taste and add salt and pepper as required.