Pulses bring protein, texture and substance to inexpensive everyday meals. Learn when soaking helps, how long different varieties need to cook and which seasonings make them shine.
Recipes
Roast sweet potato cubes with onion and cumin and boil until soft with tomatoes, beans and corn. Do not chop the sweet potatoes too small and thicken the chilli pepper without the lid to preserve the pieces.
Brown lentils, carrots, potatoes and leeks cook with bay leaves in vegetable stock to a strong stew. Match lentil type and cooking time and add apple cider vinegar only at the end so that the legumes become reliably soft.
Drained tuna and white beans are mixed with tomatoes, red onion, parsley and lemon-olive oil dressing. Rinse the beans thoroughly and add the tomatoes at the end to prevent the salad from becoming watery.
Couscous is cooked in vegetable stock and served with grilled zucchini, bell peppers, chickpeas and lemon tahini sauce. Loosen couscous with a fork after soaking and add vegetables and sauce in portions only afterwards.
Glass noodles, vegetables, herbs and fried tofu are rolled into briefly soaked rice paper and served with peanut dip. Wet rice paper for a few seconds and leave it to remain elastic instead of tearing or sticking.
Quinoa forms the warm base, followed by peas, radishes, avocado, feta and a lemon-herb dressing. Well drained quinoa and avocado meat cut just before eating keep the bowl loose and fresh.
Steam the onion until translucent, then cook the peas only briefly in vegetable broth before mash the mint and cream. Cook for a short time until the green colour is achieved; lemon juice and mint should only be added to the pot immediately before mixing.
Sauté the onion, carrots, celery and leek in oil until fragrant. Add the lentils, stock and bay leaf and cook gently.
Mercimek Çorbası is a creamy Turkish lentil soup made from red lentils, onion, carrot, tomato paste and spices. Lemon and paprika butter give it its typical finish.
Sundubu Jjigae is a hot-warming Korean stew with silk tofu, gochugaru, broth, garlic, spring onions and egg. Pork, seafood or mushrooms add depth.
Minestrone is an Italian vegetable soup with beans, vegetables, broth and small noodles or rice. Vegetables come in stages depending on the cooking time.
Tempeh Goreng is a crispy fried tempeh, which is marinated with garlic, coriander, turmeric and salt. It should remain golden brown on the outside and nutty on the inside.
Gado-Gado is an Indonesian vegetable dish with potatoes, beans, sprouts, cucumber, egg, tofu or tempeh and warm peanut sauce.
Chana Masala is a strong chickpea curry with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin and amchur or lime.
Dal Tadka is made of soft boiled lentils and a hot spice taka made from ghee, cumin, garlic, chilli and spices. The taka brings the main flavour.
Fasolada is a Greek bean soup with white beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery and olive oil. The beans are boiled until soft and the soup is calmly seasoned.
Mapo tofu is cooked with soft tofu, doubanjiang, fermented black beans, minced meat, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper. It is said to taste spicy and slightly numbing.
Miso soup consists of dashi, miso paste, tofu, wakame and spring onions. Miso is not boiled sparkling, but dissolved in hot broth at the end.