Bean basics: Your guide to cooking this staple

@BR Ednote:Editor’s note: Today we begin a series on food basics. Whether you are a pro in the kitchen or just a newbie, we hope you’ll learn something to make your time with food more enjoyable and rewarding. This series will run every other week through April 7.

Beans, also known as legumes, are healthy, great tasting, nutritious, affordable, convenient and versatile. They are a familiar food known around the world and have fed cultures for centuries.

Beans are a great addition to our diet and are heart healthy. They contain no cholesterol, are low in sodium, unless salt is added during canning or cooking, and virtually fat free.

We all know the old schoolyard song that goes along with beans — Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit, the more you eat . . . well, it is a fact that beans cause gas. However, there are ways of reducing the potency of the problem. Proper handling of dry beans before and during cooking can improve digestibility and lessen the rumble. Use one of these soaking methods:

n Slow soak: Cover beans in water for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.

n Hot soak: Bring beans to a boil, cover and set aside for 2 to 3 hours.

n Quick soak: Bring beans to a boil, cover and set aside for 1 hour.

After soaking, drain off the soaking water and replace with fresh water then proceed with your recipe. Add salt only after the beans are soft.

The best news is that beans come in an incredible variety of colors, shapes and flavors.

Try black beans with your eggs for a Mexican-style breakfast or a mix of kidney beans, lentils and chickpeas in some vegetable soup for lunch.

How about red beans and rice for dinner?

Once you start exploring beans, the choices for great and nutritious meals will seem endless.

Here are a few tips for adding more beans to your diet:

n Keep beans in your pantry. If you don’t have time to cook packaged dry beans, use canned beans instead.

n Use beans instead of, or in addition to, meat in your main dish.

n Add beans to soups or stuffing.

n Top salads with beans.

n Mix beans with rice.

n Stir beans into your favorite pasta sauce.

n Fill a tortilla or flat bread with beans and other complimentary ingredients, such as rice, meat, cheese and vegetables.

n Use convenient prepared bean spreads (hummus, refried beans), or make your own by mashing cooked beans and adding spices for a healthy dip or spread.

n Beans are often thought of as a side dish; however, they make excellent meat-free entrees.

You have really missed out if you have never enjoyed a good fresh pot of homemade beans served with a side of rice and skillet of fresh-baked corn bread.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to reap the benefits of legumes.

Quick Black Bean Soup

q 1 tablespoon olive oil

q 1-1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large)

q 2 cups thinly sliced carrots (4-5 medium)

q 1 cup thinly sliced celery (2 stalks)

q 3 cloves garlic, minced

q 3 cans (15 oz. each) black beans

q 1 can (14.5 oz.) low sodium chicken broth