Dried beans

I've decided I need to go on a serious economy drive, but still want us to eat well.

One of my favourite super cheap meals is 'beans and stuff hash'. Basically its onion, beans, tomato (in any form) and whatever is kicking about that's edible and that I think will work with it. All fried/simmered together with a few herbs. Its delicious and cheap.

But, I don't want to fill the cupboards with tins of baked beans. So I thought I'd get some bags of dehydrated beans of the kind you soak overnight before use.

Any suggestions on the most delicious bean types or bean mixes? I hate red kidney beans and the feeling is mutual, I feel quite poorly after eating more than about half a dozen of them.

Also, I'd welcome other suggestions about super cheap but wholesome meal ideas

 

I really love chickpeas. They have their own special flavour and texture but they are not really bean-like. They still work well in the bean/tomato/allium formula, though. You could add a bit of chorizo and paprika for a Spanish effect.

Also borlotti, pinto or rose coco beans are good, but very similar to red kidney beans.So are black beans which fade with cooking. http://biteslife.com/dominican-black-beans-recipe-habichuelas-guisadas/ All the beans in this tribe seem very similar to me in taste and how you can cook them, but there are lots of different names, some white kidney beans also.

You could have pale green or white canellini beans for a delicate effect, or at least as delicate as a bean will go.

Butter beans are big, massive, floury beans that are rather fun and will take a lot of cooking.

I'm addicted to Egyptian stewed field beans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ful_medames
A real peasant dish and you can get some nitrogen into your soil at the same time.

Some people like aduki beans or mung beans but I'm not very keen, I prefer a more substantial bean.

This website gives a reasonably comprehensive bean rundown. http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtobeantypes.html

 

Offal
You can not beat Offal, TRIPE, I prefer it as it comes from the butcher, cut into 2" squares sprinkle with salt and vinegar The honeycomb is the best but hard to get, usually only blanket tripe available now
Cow heel is an excellent accompaniment to tripe again just cut into cubes add salt and vinegar

Though I love tripe and Cow Heel, I can not stand it cooked

TRIPE is full of IRON and almost nil calories

Pease pudding, basically Yellow split pea soup with Ham SIMMERED down to a thick paste
add it to pork or ham sandwiches, a full meal filling and low calories

I must admit I can not buy it up here in Scotland, mainly available in NE, LANCS and YORKS

It was in this weeks Sunday papers as a new sensation ? so the price has gone up from £3 a kilo to £6 a kilo but difficult to buy outwith said counties :-(

You can do the Pease Pudding yourself. Half a pound of split yellow peas, and a ham cube simmered down to a thick paste
Ideal with ham or pork sandwiches or quick fry/heat added to the full English breakfast

Jack McH

 

I really dislike chick peas, but I use a lot of others in soups and stews, I have a couple of slow cookers, so like you clueless, will have a look what veg needs using up, what meat I have, I am a carnivore, then if I have thought ahead and soaked , haricot beans, butter , cannellini . if not open a tin, there is a method to quick soak.
I like lentils as well green, red, split peas, I also use good old pearl barley, all these thicken and add flavour, in fact you have put me in the mood so I will make one this morning.

 

What are "Moth Beans" like Zigs and is the other fennel seed.?

 

http://chefinyou.com/ingredients/moth-beans/

Clue, if you live near some decent Asian food shops I should get on down there as they sell bigger packs at good prices. Round here all the big supermarkets stock a good range. (Try going in wearing a burqa and follow the line of adverts ;-))

Split orange lentils are very cheap, available everywhere and quick to cook, unlike most pulses. You could crank out a lovely tomato and lentil soup within half an hour. Or replace the toms with pumpkin, carrot, spinach, coconut milk etc etc. Put lots of onion/leek/garlic in anyway.

 

And do you get through a lot of sugar-coated fennel seed in your household, Zigs? Looks like a lifetime's supply for most people there!

 

Baked spuds with baked beans and cheese on top. Never fails.

And Clue Junior will probably happily eat it.

I sometimes make my own baked beans and use those but I enjoy tinned baked beans just as much. Gotta watch the salt content of those although they are reducing it gradually.

Given the amount of fuel needed to cook beans (get a pressure cooker from somewhere) I'm not sure that buying dried ones and cooking your own works out much cheaper. Healthier, tastier and more satisfying, though.

 

Other than little brown beans i'm not sure how to describe them, quite nutty.

Yep, sugar coated Fennel seeds, lovely

 

Went surprisingly quick Mad, they're a bit morish

 

Here you are – lots of budget recipes from this list:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b036x3pv

 

Must get some of those!

Clueless - lentils are great. I do something along these lines once a week or so (excuse the lack of quantities, it just happens)................
Sauté some finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Add chilli if you want too. Add lentils and "fry" for 30/40 seconds (the coating of cooking oil helps stop them splitting much like it does to risotto rice). Now add onion, black cummin and fennel seed, vegetable or chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Sometimes I add Butternut squash cut into small and large chunks - the small chunks reduce into the stock leaving the larger ones to cook through. for herbs I add either finely chopped coriander, or right at the end add spinach. Left over chicken is also a good addition (I always have a bagful or three in the freezer). Serve with toasted Pitta breads.

 

Here's another;

Sauté onion and garlic (again). Add some mushrooms and diced liver and seal it before adding some tomato purée, teaspoon of smoked paprika and dried mixed herbs- heat until the oil in the purée starts to separate and add a tin of tomatoes, some veg stock, desert spoon of wholegrain mustard and various dried beans (cannelini, borlotti and chick peas here). Cook gently in the oven for 90mins or so (until the pulses are tender), and then add chopped red pepper and french beans (and a small tin of butter beans if you want) for another 10/15mins cooking.