BYOB (Baking Your Own Beans) is a method we learned a long time ago from a dear friend. It is safe to say that this method ensures the best-cooked bean: tender, slightly al dente - yet soft. It's perfect for using in soups or in salads and grain bowls!
You'll need a Dutch oven or an ovenproof cooking vessel fitting with a lid.
Ingredients
1 bag beans
1 thumb-sized piece dried kombu (seaweed-look for it at Whole Foods in the Asian ingredients section-see photo below)
enough water to cover beans by 4 inches
NO SALT*
Instructions
Pour out dried beans in a colander and rinse, making sure to remove any debris like pebbles (this can happen).
Pour beans into a large Dutch oven and add enough water to cover beans by 4 inches.
Add your kombu (this nifty little piece of seaweed helps to reduce the phytic acid in the beans. Phytic acid is the stuff that creates gas in your body as you digest. It does not change the flavor of the beans and can be easily removed once cooking is done).
Place beans, covered partially with the lid, over high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, set a timer for 15 minutes, covering your Dutch oven completely.
While beans are in their initial phase of cooking, preheat your oven to 250 F.
Once timer has gone off, remove Dutch oven from heat and place in the oven (be careful: it's heavy and hot) and make sure lid is covering the pot securely so that no water evaporates.
Set a timer for 1 hour. After the first hour, remove beans carefully and check for doneness. You want them to be soft but still intact, not mushy or falling apart. The best way to test this is to give one a taste.
If they're done, remove them, cool and place in plastic bags to store in the fridge or freezer. If they need a little longer, set a timer for 15 minute increments and check each time the timer goes off until the beans are cooked to your liking.**
Notes
*Adding salt can inhibit or arrest the cooking of the beans, meaning that if salt is added before they have cooked, they might never get soft enough to be edible. Simply add salt once they've cooked.
**Every bean is different due to its size, therefore they all cook at slightly different rates. The only beans that you don't want to use this method for are lentils and split peas, which can be done quickly on the stovetop.
Coursesside
Recipe by Vie at https://getvie.com/2018/01/16/making-a-quick-healthy-winter-soup-with-vie/