bluekarin Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I always do this. I buy bags of dried pulses, with the plan to use them as 'they are much cheaper than cans' but when I come to do a recipe, I forget to do the overnight soaking, boiling etc etc so they end up sitting in the cupboard. Is it possible to do something with them, so they are in a kilner type jar, in brine or something so they are ready to use? I've tried Googlng, but get pages about getting a pulse out of a jar I saw some in Sainsburys today which were in brine (I think) so it looks possible. Cheers me dears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I'm the same - they look so pretty and I imagine all these healthy hearty stews ... and never manage to remember to soak them! I think you can cook them and freeze them, that might be the way to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 How about using a pressure cooker? The instructions for mine state that if you don't soak them, increase to recommended cooking time recommended in the pressure cooker pressure cooker manual by one third ... and don't add salt until they are cooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I have a bean, pea and lentil cookbook, and it has loads of stuff about legumes in it, there is a 'speedy' way to soak them in there, but it still takes 2 hours. It says: "Add 6 cups of fresh cold water to every pound of dried legumes. Bring slowly to a boil. (A quick boil over high heat risks breaking the legume skins.) Let the legumes boil slowly for 2 or 3 minutes (we prefer 3). Cover pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 1 to 2 hours. We prefer the 2-hour period. Discard the soaking water, rinse the legumes well in fresh cold water, drain well, then proceed with recipe." This book is my bible for cooking with legumous things. I got it for 50p on amazon, it was published in 1991, and it doesn't have things such as Quinoa in it as it's a bit dated, but it's got me cooking with pulses and things a lot more often because it's so much less intimidating when all the ingredients look so sp"Ooops, word censored!". In the grand scheme of things, if you're preparing a stew or what have you, I do the quick prep for any pulses, and then prep the veg, by the time I've done all that I go off and do something else for an hour or so, and when I come back to it they're ready to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I'm the same - they look so pretty and I imagine all these healthy hearty stews ... and never manage to remember to soak them! I think you can cook them and freeze them, that might be the way to go? Yeah you can do that too! Freeze them on a tray first for a short time, then plonk them in a container afterwards, stops them clumping together so you can take as much or as little as you like when you need it, and they don't take long to defrost either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Some good tips here re using a pressure cooker to cook pulses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Thanks ladies I was really after a way to pre-prepare them in a jar ready to use (like you can do for veggies etc). I may have to invest in a pressure cooker. Though, those things frighten the life out of me. I'm sure I'd end up exploding the thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I make a large batch of home-made baked beans and then freeze them in 500g yoghurt pots. I use the pressure cooker now but used to soak the beans overnight, it's not so bad when you do them in bulk. I used the recipe in this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Preserved-Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall/dp/1856265323/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320185810&sr=1-2#_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
