INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

How many beans to serve how many? As a rough rule, a pound of dried legumes
will yield 8 moderate servings. Getting them ready: Spread beans on a big
pan or plate and pick out any rubbish-especially small pebbles-and broken
beans. Rinse in a colander. To soak or not? Lentils don't need to be soaked
and neither do split peas. All other dried legumes need soaking, especially
if they have spent some time on the shelf. Soaking how-tos: The basic way:
Cover with water to twice the depth of the beans and leave for 4 hours
(most kinds) or up to 24 hours, with changes of water, for fava beans or
other tough-skinned types. Drain, then cook in fresh water. Quick-soaking
or parboiling: Cover with plenty of water, bring to boiil and boil for 1 to
2 minutes. Set aside, covered for 1 hour. Drain and cook in fresh water.
Cooking: This varies widely among beans. The newest crop may cook in as
little as half the time needed by long-stored beans. The rule is to cook
beans at a gentle simmer, partly covered, until a sample is tender to the
tooth. Depending on bean kind and age, this may take as little as 45
minutes or as long as 3 hours; fava beans may need even longer. When to
salt: Wait until the beans are tender. Salting before that point will
toughen them permanently.  (wrv)
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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