Peas and beans have long been the protein mainstay of the diet of poorer people, while affluent populations have grown them not as food for humans, but for their cattle and other livestock. Retired NHS dietitian, Mary Farmer, explains why we should love our pulses
Rose Elliot, the famous vegetarian cookery writer, has ‘fessed up to being “an impulsive bean-buyer”. She is seduced by their bright, shiny, coloured skins and by their different shapes and sizes. She finds them quite irresistible. BUT, she has a further confession: she leaves them in her store cupboard, occasionally gazing adoringly at them – but that’s as far as it goes. And then, she feels really guilty for not using them as Nature intended.
I so understand! I do the same! And then, I check the “best before date” and to my horror and amazement, they are at least two years past their best.
Rose Elliot sorted her problem by going on a bean-quest, finding out more about them and researching her subject intensively. I tackled it by getting her resulting little book, “The Bean Book”, and also by cheating a little, buying beans packed in water, in either little cartons or in tins, which definitely helps to reduce preparation time.
Beans are brilliant! And have a fascinating history. It seems that they were part of the staple diet for the Bronze and Stone-Age peoples, for Ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Hebrews and are eaten in all parts of the world. They are even mentioned in the Bible. “Genesis” reports that Esau sold his birthright for “a pottage of lentils”. Mrs Elliot’s research throws up an extraordinary mixture of anomalies about the humble bean. Variously, it has been venerated and considered food fit for the gods; that it contained the soul of dead men and was therefore “unclean”; that it was used in casting votes; was a euphemism for “sexual indulgence”; that it would cure baldness and bruises and was a symbol for courtship and fertility, to name but a few. Even today, we use these phrases freely: “old bean” (a variant on the French bien, meaning good chap), “to spill the beans” “I’ll give him beans” (punishment) and “I haven’t got a bean”. “Full of beans”, according to Mrs Elliot’s findings, was used in “Handley Cross” by Robert Smith Surtees, which was published in 1843. The carat bean, of course, we know as the gold standard and perhaps, now that we know better, that is where all beans should be – at the top of the Olympic Gold League!
Pulses (all peas and beans) have, for many years, been the mainstay of the protein component of the diet of poorer people, while, for the affluent populations, they have been harvested not as food for humans, but for their cattle and other livestock. It is only relatively recently, that we have come to appreciate the nutritional value of the humble bean.
Even I can remember being taught that pulses, along with cereals, nuts and seeds, were considered, rather patronisingly, to provide “only second class protein” – second class, that is to the protein from egg, dairy foods, fish and meat.
Even farming practices encourage the rotation of legumes and rice or wheat and we all remember from our school botany lessons, how legumes harvest nitrates in the nodules of their roots, thus “fertilising” the soil for the following crop.
Of all the protein foods, beans naturally have the least amount of fat, have “slow-release” carbohydrates and are high in fibre. They are thus terrific choices for people who want to treat their high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or overweight through simple foods. Furthermore, this is the kind of fibre that encourages the growth of the “good bacteria” in your guts, which, among other properties, help you to absorb certain minerals. As a group, beans contain a variety of vitamins and minerals and even soya beans vie with red meat for their iron content – though, as we have previously mentioned, this is “non-haem iron” which is less easily absorbed, compared with that from meat. Best of all, beans are cheap and cheerful! From runner beans to mange tout; from broad beans – in their wonderful, cosy, little cotton-wool-lined pods – to chick peas; from green beans to “black-eye Susies”; soya beans to the red beans in your chilli-con-carne or butter beans in a tasty sauce, they add value to your meals at low cost.
I offered to cook for a vegan recently, who was on a walking weekend – me and my big mouth! I riffled through my cookery books and came up with a nut roast (of course!) and a lentil and bulgur wheat bake – which worried me, as it resembled a cow-pat! My fears were unfounded. Both were delicious – and together with her date and apricot oat slices, gave the lady such energy and stamina, so that she out-walked her fellows!
To become full of beans, try them in soups, as starters, in salsas, salads, pâtés and spreads; as casseroles and tagines; as rissoles, fillings for pancakes, jacket potatoes or toppings for pasta or pizzas; as stuffings or in curries; in stir-fries; hot or cold; dried, fresh or sprouting. Because of their bland flavour, they happily absorb any combinations of spices and herbs and are thus extremely versatile. Children can have fun with sprouting (mung) beans or alfafa.
If you are shy of or new to beans, but want to try, start with a small amount so that your system gets used to them gradually, otherwise it could be a little uncomfortable!
Winter has arrived. I’m off to make a pot of lentil soup!