Cooking with Legumes
5 recipes using canned legumes. Make sure you rinse the lentils
well when you take them out of the can to remove the glup. Google
how to prepare raw lentils if you want to do this. These are not a
meal in themselves, You need to add your protein.
Yummy Lentils
This will do for several breakfasts or lunches or as
a side to dinner. Takes no time at all…Remember,
it’s the slow carb release of the legumes that make this work for you.
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1 can lentils (no lentils – try another legume)
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
1-2 tbsp oil
Taste options: Moroccan spices – turmeric, cinnamon, ground cumin,
ground coriander seeds / chopped fresh parsley or coriander / tomato
puree / curry spices
Vege options: Frozen veg / grated carrot or zucchini/ can tomatoes /
chopped spinach
Protein options: Poached / fried egg on top; meat on the side / tofu
added with veges.
Directions
1. Gently heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Add the onions and garlic and stir to coat with the oil. Cover and saute for
5 minutes, until starting to soften.
3. Add the lentils and stir to coat with the oil, spices…. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the tofu, veges or fresh herbs and cook for a further few minutes.
Legume Mash
My kids love this and I use it instead of potato.
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1 can butter beans / cannelli beans / chick peas.
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 onion chopped
Olive oil to fry
Fresh rosemary
More olive oil to moisten to taste at end.
Directions:
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Fry onions and garlic. Add butter beans and stir thorough.
Add rosemary and additional oil.
Mash the mix while it’s cooking. Only needs a few minutes once the
onion and garlic are done.
Add the additional oil to taste.
We often have this with tofu in a rich tomato puree sauce, salad on the side.
Hummus
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1 clove garlic
1 can chick peas, half the liquid reserved
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
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In a blender, chop the garlic. Pour chick peas into blender, reserving
about a tablespoon for garnish. Place lemon juice, tahini, chopped
garlic and salt in blender. Blend until creamy and well mixed.
Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper
and pour olive oil over the top. Garnish with reserved chick peas.
Can use other legumes. Can garnish with paprika for a spicier taste.
Mixed Bean Salad
You can really play with this. Add any veges you like in
grated or small chopped form.
Directions:
 Chop red onion and garlic into a bowl. Add a can of mixed beans.
 Add celery, carrot, corn, zucchini, beetroot, olives, parsley, coriander,
spinach, avocado, pepper, chilli…
 Olive oil to taste.
Dahl
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1 can lentils
3cm fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbls Butter substitute / coconut oil
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam marsala
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
Directions
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Place lentils, ginger, bay leaves and cinnamon in a large saucepan with
3 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and
simmer, stirring to prevent sticking for 10-12 minutes. Discard spices
and set aside.
Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the
onion and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, turmeric, cumin, garam
marsala and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute or until fragrant.
Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt.
Add the lentils to the pan and mix well. Cook for a further 3 minutes,
stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in coriander. Serve hot
or cold.
Dressings and sauces
These are a great way to add variety to your food. Remember, you are
aiming to stick to a few recipes, so using these will give you the taste variety.
Great if you are inflicting this on your family and friends…
Pesto
We generally make a much simpler version than this with olive oil, leaves and
cashew nuts. We also use different leaves – parsley / spinach / kale… This
one is really yummy though so worth the effort.
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1 bunch of coriander leaves
2 large garlic cloves
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)
¼ cup olive oil (or less, to taste)
1 tsp sesame oil (or more, to taste)
¼ cup almond butter 1 tsp honey (optional)
½-1 cup coconut milk
Sea salt to taste
Directions
Blend sauce ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth, adding
coconut milk until preferred consistency is reached.
Vegan Mayonnaise
A simple and quick way to make dairy-free, egg-free mayonnaise. Dairy free
is the important part here. Use it with salad or coleslaw or with eggs for
brekkie.
 ½ cup unsweetened plant based milk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup bland vegetable oil (eg, sunflower, rice, canola)
Sea salt to taste
Directions
1. Blend plant based milk, vinegar and salt together with a stick blender.
2. Very slowly drizzle oil into the mix while continuing to blend.
3. Add water to thin the consistency if you choose. Keep the blender going
while doing so.
Romesco Sauce (dip)
Complicated, but so worth it. Can keep for several days in fridge.
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3 ripe tomatoes, cut in half, cores removed
1
/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
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1 red capsicum, core removed
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1 small head garlic, unpeeled and halved horizontally
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1 slice sourdough bread, about 1cm thick
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50g blanched almonds, toasted
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2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
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Pinch dried red chilli flakes
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4 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
Line a shallow roasting dish with baking paper and wrap garlic halves in
foil. Place tomatoes in the roasting dish and drizzle with a dash of oil.
Sprinkle with paprika and lightly season. Add the capsicum and wrapped
garlic, then place in the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes. Turn the
capsicum over during roasting to blacken both sides. Ensure garlic is very
soft (if not return to oven for a little longer).
Place the red pepper in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to steam
for 10 minutes before peeling away and discarding the skin and seeds. Set
aside. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, pop garlic cloves out of
their skins and set aside. Heat a dash of oil in a small frying pan and panfry the bread on both sides until golden.
Place the tomatoes, capsicum, garlic, bread, almonds, vinegar and chilli
flakes in a food processor. Process to blend, drizzling the olive oil in
through the feed tube. Keep Romesco sauce a little chunky to give the
sauce texture. Season to taste and serve immediately or store covered in
the refrigerator.
Basil Dressing
 1 cup packed basil leaves
 ½ olive oil
 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
Blend and serve.
Sesame Sauce:
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2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp water
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp soy sauce
Mix…serve over grilled / roasted veges / chicken.
Gado Gado
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1 clove of garlic
50 g palm sugar
120 g crunchy peanut butter
1–2 fresh red chillies
2 limes , juice of
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
Directions:
Put all the sauce ingredients into a blender, peeling the garlic and grating in the palm sugar
(if needed), then blitz until smooth. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning, making sure the
acidity of the lime sings through, so tweak with more, if needed.
Gaucamole
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4 ripe avocados, seeded and peeled
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground cumin
3 drops hot chilli sauce
Directions
Using a fork, coarsely mash avocado with lemon juice and garlic. Stir in
remaining ingredients to blend.