The Bean Chronicles: Garbanzos, and roasted tomato soup

It is clearly no secret that I enjoy cooking. I enjoy the process, the time, and the results (mostly - I've had my share of failures). I make a lot of stuff from scratch: salad dressing, cupcakes, tomato sauce, pesto, pickles, granola, chana masala, chicken broth (hey! that's an impressive list, if I do say so myself). Nonetheless, despite the encouragements out there in the cooking world, there are certain things I still refuse to make from scratch: bread, pasta, beans, yogurt, jam, frosting that involves raw eggs. At one time, kimchi was on that list, and seeing as I've broken that barrier (sort of, albeit with kaktugui)... I've tackled the mighty bean.



There is so much information out there regarding cooking dried beans that I was completely overwhelmed while researching the topic. There is the soak method (most common), no-soak, quick soak. Arguments for soaking include losing the gas; arguments against soaking include losing the nutrients. There is the soak in salted water, or don't add salt until the last hour of cooking. Soak on counter, or soak in the refrigerator. Cover on or off? There is the no-soak oven method. Some people add baking soda to the soaking water. Some people use a slow-cooker or a pressure cooker. And what exactly does "soak overnight" even mean?? Is that 12 hours, or 24??

Do a search for dried beans on Chowhound and your head will spin. It was nearly enough to make me go back to canned beans.


The biggest lesson I learned from my researching though was that I just had to try it for myself. At some point, I figured I would discover what works best for me - my schedule, my equipment, my tastes, even the bean I chose to eat. So, join me as I go through various bean-cooking methods to pick the best one! (For me, that is.)

The bean: Garbanzos/chickpeas
Amount: Half of a 1-pound bag
Method: Soak, no salt (about 8 hours); soaking water drained, then on stove with water to cover, salted part way through; partially covered, barely simmering
Cooking time: About 3 1/2 hours (!)
Storing? Half of the cooked beans in the freezer, the other half in the fridge, both in the cooking liquid
Result: Very similar to the canned version; lovely nutty taste. Some of them seemed to be splitting in half though. Out-of-the-ordinary gassiness not apparent.

Because I had no specific purpose for these beans in mind, I kept them fairly neutral, and perhaps a little on the firmer side (if I had planned to make hummus, I might have cooked them longer to get them really soft).

I eventually used the beans I had refrigerated in this roasted tomato and eggplant soup. That meant rinsing the beans, then roasting them in the oven with the eggplant. The beans got a nice roasted flavor and became firmer.


The best part of this soup though was the roasted tomato - just sublime. I would make it again, but as a base for tomato sauce, or chili, or soup. Using the summer crop of tomatoes is probably ideal, but I'm sure it's a great method to improve inferior winter tomatoes.


But back to the beans! It wasn't as horrific a process as I thought it would be. Soaking (if you go that route) can be done while you're at work; cooking can be done in the evenings while watching TV. I'm going to continue to try different bean-cooking methods to see what the differences are, and also to see how they hold up when used for an actual meal. This will be the winter of the bean.

Useful links:
Serious Eats: How to Cook Dried Beans
The Kitchn: How to Cook Beans
Food.com: Basic Dried Beans

[more as I find them]

Culinate.com - tip on using a wide pot so beans don't crush each other; interesting...