Legumes are an excellent source of plant protein, but often, due to high fiber content, cause painful bloating in the stomach and unpleasant gas. With proper pre-preparation, we can solve most of these problems.
The most important thing is to soak the legumes in a large amount of water for as long as possible:
chickpeas and beans up to 24 hours and
lentils up to 8 hours.
If possible, drain them at least twice during soaking, rinse with running water and soak again in fresh water.
After soaking, drain and rinse your legumes again. Then add them to a pot and cover with enough water - legumes should be covered with about 2 cm of water. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. When you see the foam forming on top, drain and rinse them once again. Rinse all the foam from the pot as well. Repeat the procedure at least three times.
After the final rinse, add more water to a pot to avoid water evaporating during cooking and legumes getting burned. Add one piece of kombu seaweed, bay leaf, few sprigs of fresh thyme (or half of teaspoon dry) and cook until the legumes are hard enough and not overcooked.
For the legumes to be cooked properly, salt them at the end or in further preparation.
