What new foods have you tried recently?

[gentlegreen]

I can’t say that these are new foods particularly but I’ve been eating a lot of chickpeas and green lentils lately. They’re 50p a can in Aldi, but is there a way to get them any cheaper than this?

Dried is fine, presumably I’d need to soak first before using but that wouldn’t be an issue, and indeed happy to buy in bulk if it’s going to save some cash.

They recently increased in price and are now sulphited and lack the lovely farty pulp so last time I was at the deli I bought a bag of dried and I have some food savers ready for them when I get myself motivated.
Chickpeas are very easy to cook yourself - especially if you have a pressure cooker...
I also have lots of green lentils I no longer sprout since locating some reliable mung beans...

The big problem is once you cook a batch, without a freezer, you're sort of committed to eating them most days ...

 

[dessiato]

is it all super-hot and spicy ?

No. Some is but other types less so.

 

[Part 2]

Depends on how much you value your time. A 10 minute boil and a few hours in a thermal cooker will cut most of your energy costs.

Is that a pressure cooker?

 

[8ball]

Is that a pressure cooker?

No, I meant something like this:

Ecopot Portable Thermal Cooker 3.5L - H21.5 x W24cm | DIY at B&Q

Our remarkable energy-efficient Ecopot keeps on cooking food for up to 8 hours after it's removed from the hob, thanks to ground-breaking, insulating material and thermo-steam technology. Simply heat up your ingredients for just 10-15 minutes before you leave the house, transfer them to the...

www.diy.com

Or this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonderbag-Non-Electric-friendly-reducing-African/dp/B07H8Q77Z9/ref=asc_df_B0B9HYJF58/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606741190684&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16441725672308363117&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006507&hvtargid=pla-1730323919907&psc=1&th=1

 

[Part 2]

The second one is a bean bag

 

[8ball]

The second one is a bean bag

I first saw one at a mate’s housewarming last Saturday. He’d had a dahl cooking in it for several hours. They’re quite a bit heavier than they look.

 

[The39thStep]

Ive never eaten much celeriac before. And ive only made soup with it in the past.

Got it with my veg box (seasonal veg innit). This time I tried roasting it in strips with some oil and sliced chorizo. Quite successful!

I like it , very underrated vegetable imo,

 

[Epona]

Oooh, that's interesting.
Sort of like a haybox type idea.

 

[Part 2]

I first saw one at a mate’s housewarming last Saturday. He’d had a dahl cooking in it for several hours. They’re quite a bit heavier than they look.

I honestly thought it was a bean bag

 

[Elpenor]

Green and brown lentils don't need soaking in advance just boil them.

I think chickpeas from a can are better and possibly more economical for some things than the effort of soaking and boiling them for ages.

They recently increased in price and are now sulphited and lack the lovely farty pulp so last time I was at the deli I bought a bag of dried and I have some food savers ready for them when I get myself motivated.
Chickpeas are very easy to cook yourself - especially if you have a pressure cooker...
I also have lots of green lentils I no longer sprout since locating some reliable mung beans...

The big problem is once you cook a batch, without a freezer, you're sort of committed to eating them most days ...

I might be better off with the tins then. I can’t think of anywhere that might sell in bulk. Perhaps the Asian supermarket in the centre of Exeter but I’d have to make a special trip into town for that and I think it’s more of a Chinese food supermarket anyway. Maybe I’ll have a look when next in Reading as there are lots of local south Asian oriented supermarkets which will be more what I’m after.

 

[gentlegreen]

When I first went veggie in the 80s and for quite a long time afterwards I don't think you could even get canned pulses in the supermarket ...
I'm annoyed at how the quality has gone down. I rinse them now ...

 

[Elpenor]

I don’t remember seeing chickpeas and lentils in Aldi until recently but suspect it’s a case of only seeing what you look for

I also bought some black lentils but not really sure what to use them for

 

[The39thStep]

Lentils were grown in the UK at one time .

 

[Epona]

I don’t remember seeing chickpeas and lentils in Aldi until recently but suspect it’s a case of only seeing what you look for

I also bought some black lentils but not really sure what to use them for

I've never had them, but they sound interesting, I'll have to keep an eye out for those.

This recipe looks good (not tried it mind, but it sounds like my cup of tea)

Easy Mediterranean Lentil Salad with Feta, Cucumber and Spinach

Easy Lentil Salad with Feta, Cucumber and Spinach is super fast to toss together. Just boil the lentils for 25 minutes, and stir with the dressing and vegetables. That's it! Naturally gluten-free.

www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com

 

[platinumsage]

Lentils were grown in the UK at one time .

This lot reckon they're the first to do it commercially:

First British lentil harvest underway

Taste the harvest! Try our wonderful British-grown Lentils. After three years of research and crop trials we started harvesting the first commercial crop of British-grown lentils at the end of August 2017. Over the next few weeks six farms in Suffolk, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire and...

hodmedods.co.uk

 

[The39thStep]

This lot reckon they're the first to do it commercially:

First British lentil harvest underway

Taste the harvest! Try our wonderful British-grown Lentils. After three years of research and crop trials we started harvesting the first commercial crop of British-grown lentils at the end of August 2017. Over the next few weeks six farms in Suffolk, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire and...

hodmedods.co.uk

Probably are, on a large commercial scale.

 

[RedRedRose]

I cook beans and lentils in a rice cooker; red lentils, about 20 mins, kidney beans about an hour.

A slow cooker would work just as well.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I can’t say that these are new foods particularly but I’ve been eating a lot of chickpeas and green lentils lately. They’re 50p a can in Aldi, but is there a way to get them any cheaper than this?

Dried is fine, presumably I’d need to soak first before using but that wouldn’t be an issue, and indeed happy to buy in bulk if it’s going to save some cash.

Yes. Buy dried in bulk. Asian supermarkets can be good for this, although we use Lembas once a year. Minimum order is high though.

Green lentils I soak and then cook. Chick peas work great in a small slow cooker (and much quicker and not quite as good in a pressure cooker)

 

[Callie]

I cook beans and lentils in a rice cooker; red lentils, about 20 mins, kidney beans about an hour.

A slow cooker would work just as well.

Don't you need to do a hard boil for dried kidney beans?

 

[cesare]

Don't you need to do a hard boil for dried kidney beans?

Yes! The toxins only get removed by a rolling boil. Argh the horror stories of the 80s are revisiting me

 

[UrbaneFox]

What is this wrap thing? Rice?

How did that rack of prawns come to be?

 

[Fez909]

How did that rack of prawns come to be?

Skewered, I reckon. There's some odd stuff in that video. Like those plastic-looking eggs.

But I'm still interested to know what the rice(?) wrap thing is, though.

 

[RedRedRose]

Don't you need to do a hard boil for dried kidney beans?

TBH I always pre-soak them.

 

[Epona]

TBH I always pre-soak them.

You still need to drain and boil them them in fresh water after that soak though
(I think boil for about 20 minutes? Tins are so much easier it has been a long time since I cooked dried red kidney beans)

 

[UrbaneFox]

Skewered, I reckon. There's some odd stuff in that video. Like those plastic-looking eggs.

But I'm still interested to know what the rice(?) wrap thing is, though.

I think it's cooked rice, placed in the rectangular moulds, mashed by the lid, and cooked again.

But I can't see the skewers through the prawns, they're just suspended. That's what's bothering me.

 

[Epona]

I think it is like short skewers through the prawns?
They are definitely held together, sometimes when I fry prawns I am chasing them around the pan to turn them and that is definitely not happening there, so I think short skewers (probably wooden ones like big cocktail sticks, as they are dishing out the food with them in).

 

[UrbaneFox]

I should be in bed. The prawn skewers will keep me awake.

 

[Elpenor]

The rice looked to be dehydrated to be crispy and foldable, pressed into shape by the dehydrating tray so it’s effectively like a wrap

Anyone who’s had a rice cooker will know how nice it is to eat the crispy bits at the bottom

 

[zora]

Re lentils: I'm always surprised just how quickly green lentils cook, given that they have a reputation for needing to cook for a long time. I don't pre-soak, just rolling boil for 10 mins, and after an additional 20 mins they are usually done, not the 40 or 50 minutes on top of pre-soaking that some packet instructions call for.

 

[Steel Icarus]

A new dish: Ensalada Malaguena. Somehow a potato salad involving fish and oranges worked. Wonderful.