20 March 2014 year
When people say they can’t eat beans, ask them, “Have you tried lentils?” There are so many different types of legumes (beans, peas and lentils) that over 11 varieties are known.
Of course, you won’t find many varieties in the supermarket, but you’ll probably find a dozen different types of legumes, dried and canned, and a few dozen varieties in specialty grocery stores.
There are an almost endless number of ways to cook beans, peas, and lentils, among others.
So anyone can easily find a few legumes they love and at least twenty different ways to cook them. But it makes sense to eat lentils about 10 times more often than other legumes.
Why lentils?
1. It is tasty and colorful. Lentils give us many delicious flavors and colors. In fact, each variety of lentils has its own unique flavor and color, and different flavors come from different cooking methods.
2. Lentils are healthy, rich in nutrients and fiber. Lentils are much more nutritious than black beans! One cup of cooked lentils (198,00 grams) contains 230 calories, folic acid, fiber, copper, phosphorus, manganese, iron, protein, vitamins B1 and B6, pantothenic acid, zinc, and potassium.
3. Fast cooking. Most legumes need to be washed before cooking, while lentils do not. It cooks twice as fast and is less likely to be tough or torn into pieces, as is often the case with other legumes.
4. Small size. Lentils are soft and small, you won’t choke on them.
5. Cheap and plentiful. Lentils are lighter and smaller, and it turns out that you get more volume per dollar than if you were buying other beans.
6. Versatility. You can cook more dishes with lentils than you can with beans. It hasn’t been scientifically tested, but it’s true!
7. Easy to digest. Sometimes legumes cause bloating. This may be due to the abundance of carbohydrates, the molecules of which consist of a relatively small number of monosaccharides. The digestive system eventually gets used to lentils if you eat them often.
8. Suitable for small children and old people. Lentils are easy to chew, not choke on, and can be easily hidden in soups, stews, casseroles, pancakes, and salads so as not to provoke protest in a child.
9. Easy disguise. Lentils are very soft and creamy easily, meaning they can form the basis of soups or spreads, sauces and baked goods without anyone knowing.
10. Satiety and satisfaction. Lentils are small, nutritious and easy to digest, easy to disguise, so that we end up feeling completely satisfied. Scientific fact!
cooking lentils
Lentils taste best when they hold their shape during cooking. The only exception is tiny red lentils, which taste much better when mashed. While soaking is not a contraindication for lentils, they can easily be cooked without soaking and won’t take long.
The tricky part of cooking lentils is to prevent the lentils from falling apart some time after cooking. The secret is to first soak it for an hour or two in water with a pinch of salt, and then cook it. This may add a few minutes to the cooking time, but it’s worth it, and you’ll end up with the perfect lentils to add to salads or casseroles.
Sprouting makes lentils even more digestible, nutritious and delicious. And allows you to eat it raw.
For sprouting lentils, soak 1/2 to 1 cup of lentils overnight in a glass jar, then rinse and strain. Pour into a fine sieve barely covered with water for germination. Or place the jar of soaked and washed lentils in a dark, cool place, rinsing the contents 2 or 3 times a day. When the tails begin to appear, germination has taken place. Sprouts are most nutritious when they have barely sprouted. You can use lentil sprouts for salads, or add them to soups at the end of cooking, or grind them and add them to bread.