How to cook beans – Italian Cuisine

How to cook beans


Raw, cooked, fried: these are the beans, a legume rich in proteins and mineral salts that is also good for the skin

The beans they are one of the oldest legumes: they have found traces of it even in the excavations of Troy and Crete, but their use apparently still predates this period. The Romans used it extensively, so that one of the most important families in the history of Rome, the Fabi, took their name from the broad bean, called "faba". Over time it passed from food of wealthy classes to survival food for the poorer classes. In the mid-sixteenth century, when the bean spread from America, the broad bean was abandoned almost completely.

How to consume them

The beans are consumed fresh, both cooked and raw, or dried and then cooked. The fresh ones are always sold with their green pod, while the dry ones are shelled and without the peel. Like all legumes, if you use dried beans you must first soak them. In the case in which the beans have a peel, the soak should be 18 hours, otherwise only 8. If you taste fresh, you must choose the spring ones, young and very tender: they are excellent accompanied with local salamis or with pecorino, as you usa do in Tuscany. Little present on the tables of northern Italy, the beans are instead used in the kitchens of Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sardinia.

In the kitchens of other countries

Also in foreign kitchens, broad beans are a widely used food: in some Arab countries they are used to prepare a typical dish for breakfast, the ful medamla, made with broad beans cooked in copper containers and then seasoned with oil, onions, garlic and lemon juice. In Latin America they are added to vegetable soups or eaten as a snack in combination with spicy sauces.

Beneficial (but not for all)

Low in calories, the beans are highly nutritious thanks to the vitamins, proteins and mineral salts they contain. Rich in fiber, they have a beneficial effect on heart health because they reduce the rate of bad cholesterol in the blood. The high level of vitamin C present allows a rapid assimilation of the iron contained in the legume itself.

For some people, however, the consumption of broad beans can be very dangerous: we are talking about subjects who, due to a hereditary pathology, do not have an essential enzyme to neutralize the harmful effects of some substances present in this legume. The disease is called favism and in more serious situations can cause a cardiovascular collapse. The only remedy remains to avoid consuming them.

Here are some recipes with beans

This recipe has already been read 362 times!

Proudly powered by WordPress

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Click here to read more information about data collection for ads personalisation

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Read more about data collection for ads personalisation our in our Cookies Policy page

Close