In recent years, legumes have made a royal comeback in our menus and plates. Small zoom on these good makers.
Long forgotten for a lot of reasons like less tasty, less sexy or take too long to cook, legumes have often been shunned in our kitchens. But for a few years now they have been jostling to return to the front of the stage. On this “legumes day”, let’s take stock of their many virtues, their consumption and their conservation.

Who are these legumes ?

There is an enormous diversity of legumes grown and consumed around the world. In all this we find: Beans (black, red, white, etc.), lentils (brown, green, coral, etc.), peas (chick, split), broad beans and soy.

What are their benefits ?

Legumes provide quality energy to your body and your brain and limit cravings and bouts of fatigue thanks to a rich intake of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The fibers alone decrease the absorption of fats and cholesterol, slow down the assimilation of carbohydrates and prevent the stagnation of undesirable elements in the intestines. Legumes are known to balance the intestinal flora and transit.
They are also naturally gluten-free and are ideal for people with gluten intolerance and celiac patients.

Be careful, however, not to abuse it, like everything, it must be consumed as part of a varied and balanced diet. It is also advisable to combine them with certain cereals (quinoa, bulgur etc.), vegetables and fish / meat, in order to benefit from a complete contribution.

How to properly store your legumes ?

First of all, favor organic or reasonable production in order to avoid pesticides, which are often present in quantity in legumes.
For storage, this is not a problem. Indeed, most of them are pulses and their conservation is simple – In a well-closed bag, in a glass jar, it doesn’t matter, legumes keep very well! You can also buy them canned, they also offer a rather long consumption date!
Once cooked, legumes can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge. So here we have products full of good things, at totally affordable and which keep very well !!

Now that we know all that, what do we do with it?

Here are some recipe ideas:

– A Chickpea hummus Socca (@soccapero)
– A velouté of split peas and crushed Socca Chips®
– A salad with two lentils
– A bean salad
– A marriage of red beans and quinoa in a homemade tomato sauce
– A pea risotto
– A dahl of coral lentils
– A chilli con carne
– Red bean brownie
– A mashed peas
– And chickpea cookies….

The list is still very long as there are so many ideas! It’s up to you to see, create and enjoy!

légumineuse