Since ancient times, peas have occupied a fairly significant role in the human diet. This legume has always been famous for its nutritional qualities, nutritional value, and rich taste.
India and China in ancient times associated peas with wealth and fertility. Greece and Rome gave it a special role among all other products, preparing it even for royalty.
To this day, the abundance of dishes from this culture is amazing. Every day, the plants prepare such delicious dishes from its fruits: soups, cereals, cutlets, sausages, etc. Abundance has one thing in common: proper soaking of this cereal.
Benefit
The benefits of this culture are truly great:
- The fruits of beans are very rich in protein of plant origin - very attractive to vegetarians or fasting people;
- The fruits contain a huge list of amino acids, which makes it indispensable;
- Thanks to the large amount of coarse dietary fiber, the product cleanses the intestines;
- Reduces the risk of developing cancer;
- The nutritional value of peas is much higher than most vegetables; it surpasses even meat in this indicator;
- Contains vitamins B, C, A, iron, phosphorus, calcium, and many others;
- Slows down the aging process of the body.
The dish has its contraindications: it has the ability to cause increased gas formation, therefore it is excluded from consumption by persons suffering from gastrointestinal diseases and gout.
Benefits of pea soup
It has been proven that peas are good for humans - they speed up metabolism and have a beneficial effect on processes important to life. Properties of the culture:
- contains a large amount of protein;
- high nutritional value;
- essential microelements;
- magnesium contained in peas helps absorb calcium;
- fresh vegetables are useful for diseases of the genitourinary system;
- acts as a prevention of diabetes mellitus; content of vitamins B and E;
- contains iron.
Advice!
People who are on a diet can cook pea soup in low-fat broth. It will be dietary and will be able to burn fat.
But there are also contraindications to the use of this type of crop – diseases of the digestive system.
Why is it difficult to cook peas?
The legume plant belongs to dietary dishes. Previously, when people had not yet thought about the problems of dietary healthy eating.
But this culture was abundantly represented among the tables of people of that time. They used it to make porridge, stew, and even baked snacks.
There were no difficulties when cooking beans, but then it was cooked using a stove. Slow simmering over an open fire helped the dish reach the required readiness.
Now only remote villages have such technologies. Therefore, women have to use other methods of preparing this porridge.
What is the reason for the slow cooking of the beans? It is very rich in starch and protein compounds with almost no moisture. Therefore, preparing it for the boiling procedure, simmering, baking or frying depends on the desired end result.
Help it boil down
Pea grains can be boiled quickly, taking into account the following factors:
- When purchasing it, it is better to choose a crushed product. The nutritional benefits of the dish will be similar, but less time will be spent.
- Chefs say Idaho beans cook the fastest.
- The grains should be thoroughly washed, transferred, and then cold water is poured into them. Then leave it for 8-10 hours.
- When preparing, it is preferable to use drinking soft water.
- If you need to cook the beans faster, roast them for 15 minutes.
- Simmering of the dish will be better if you use thick-walled cookware. It is better to use the soaking water.
Vegetarian soup
Ingredients:
- 400 g green peas;
- 500 g cauliflower;
- 3 tbsp. l. sunflower or rapeseed oil;
- 110 g celery, 2 cloves garlic;
- 2 tsp each ginger root and sun-dried tomatoes (or 1 fresh tomato);
- 1 tsp each grainy mustard, turmeric, ground coriander;
- 1 tbsp. l. lemon or lime juice.
Cooking steps:
- Rinse the peas, cover with cold water and leave overnight.
- Peel, finely chop or grate the ginger.
- Heat vegetable oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Place ginger, turmeric, mustard, and garlic into a bowl. Fry all ingredients over low heat, stirring constantly.
- As soon as the mustard seeds begin to crackle, pour 2 liters of water into the container. Add prepared legumes, celery and coriander cut into half rings to the cold liquid.
- Stir the soup, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Wash the cauliflower, trim off the black spots, divide into florets and place in a saucepan. Bring all products to readiness.
- Add diced tomato and lemon juice to the soup 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
How to soak peas for soup
When the peas do not soften after 2 hours, and the pea soup needs to be prepared quickly, you will need to follow this recipe:
- Prepare a glass of cereal. Sort and wash the peas;
- Pour two liters of water over the pea cereal, then put it on the stove;
- Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to boiling water;
- Stir the mixture thoroughly, remove the pan;
- Then cover the dish with a lid and wait half an hour;
- After the required period, drain the water, rinse the cereal thoroughly, and then fill it with cold water;
- Add salt, place the workpiece over medium heat, and cook for about 20 minutes;
- Next you should add black pepper.
You just need to add the necessary ingredients. Enjoy the finished soup!
Puree soup with bacon
Ingredients:
- a glass of cereal;
- 200 g bacon;
- 150 g smoked ribs;
- a couple of potatoes;
- one onion and carrot;
- salt;
- liter of water;
- two garlic cloves.
Cooking method:
- So that the beans are boiled at the time of cooking, they are soaked overnight in cold water, after which they are combined with the ribs and begin to cook over low heat, not forgetting to remove the foam.
- Grated carrots, chopped onions and bacon are fried separately.
- As soon as the cereal is boiled, add the diced potatoes into the saucepan and cook the soup for another 15 minutes.
- After that, remove the ribs, puree the contents of the dish using a blender and combine all the ingredients.
- You can serve the dish after simmering it for ten minutes over low heat.
As you can see, boiling peas is not such a problem, especially if you choose the “right” cereal and adhere to proven technology for its heat treatment.
How to quickly cook peas
Typically, soaking pea cereal lasts about 5-6 hours. Often women have to soak cereal all night or all day.
- Peas
are good for health
- rich in vitamins (ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, antioxidant protection) and mineral salts (potassium, which ensures acid-base balance), thiamine (improves brain function). Peas contain a lot of vegetable protein.
— Calorie content
peas - 310 kcal per 100 grams.
— Price
peas in Moscow stores - split from 40 rubles/kg, whole from 50 rubles/kg (as of October 2020).
— Shelf life
raw peas - from 12 months to 2 years. Boiled peas can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When soaking, it is important not to overdo it.
peas - they can turn sour from prolonged soaking. To be on the safe side, soaked peas should be refrigerated.
If you are sure that the pea cereal is soft, you can add peas to the soup immediately when cooking the meat - then the peas will not have to be soaked and their cooking time will be 1.5 hours (the same as the meat).
In order not to soak the peas, you can add a quarter teaspoon of soda when cooking (per 1 cup of peas) - then crushed peas will cook in 1.5 hours, whole ones in two. Even without soaking (and without soda), cook the peas for an hour and a half or more - it is very important to add water in time and it is important to do it a little at a time, so that the cooked peas can be immediately used in a dish with all the broth without draining it.
For softness
, soaked and then washed peas can be calcined in a frying pan, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes over low heat - then the peas will not form foam during cooking.
When determining the cooking time for peas, the pea variety and water hardness
- Be sure to taste the peas before finishing cooking.
— In a slow cooker
Cook peas without soaking for 2 hours on the “Stew” mode, with soaking - 1 hour.
— In the microwave
: soak the peas, then rinse and add water, cook in the microwave at 500 watts for 20 minutes, then stir and cook for another 20 minutes at the same power, then cover the dish and cook for another 15 minutes.
— In a pressure cooker
cook peas for 15 minutes.
Simple pea soup recipe
Ingredients for making pea soup
: peas - 1 glass potatoes - 2-3 potatoes smoked pork ribs - 300-500 grams carrots - 1 piece onions - 1 piece Salt - teaspoon Ground black pepper - half a teaspoon.
Making pea soup
Coarsely chop the smoked ribs, place in a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil. Add washed peas and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Then add finely chopped potatoes and cook over low heat for another 15 minutes. Fry grated carrots and finely chopped onion. Add carrots and onions to the pan and cook for another 7-10 minutes. Your classic pea soup is ready! Serve with crackers and fresh herbs.
How to cook pea porridge
Products for pea porridge
Dried split peas - 1 cup Vegetable oil - 5 tablespoons 10 percent cream - 200 milliliters Onions - 1 head Carrots - 1 piece Red bell pepper - 1 piece
Pea porridge recipe
Soak the peas for 10 hours, wash and cook.
Grind the boiled peas using a blender, add cream, bring to a boil, add salt and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat. Peel the onions and carrots, remove the seeds and stems from the sweet peppers. Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots, chop the pepper. Fry the onion in a frying pan, then add carrots and peppers, fry everything together, stirring, for 10 minutes. Serve pea porridge with fried vegetables on top. You can also add lard, bacon, stewed meat, and minced meat to the frying.
Almost any pea dish requires pre-soaking it. The fact is that simply putting peas into a pan with food at once will not work due to its long cooking time. If you do everything exactly this way, it may turn out that everything has already boiled over a long time ago, and the peas are still very far from being ready.
Moreover, even predicting when it will be cooked is also quite difficult, since everything depends not only on the type of peas, but also on their degree of freshness. That is why, before the cooking process, peas require preliminary preparation in the form of soaking. In order to properly soak peas, you will need to know some tricks.
Pour hot water over the sorted peas. This promotes faster penetration of water into the peas, and also introduces some components that have an unpleasant odor from the surface layers. Water is poured at the rate of one volume of peas to four volumes of liquid.
To know how to soak peas correctly, it should be especially noted that under no circumstances should peas be salted. Salt added during cooking significantly increases the cooking time of the peas, and if you keep them in salt water for several hours, then you may not be able to wait for them to cook at all.
When soaking, add about a teaspoon of baking soda or two tablespoons of sugar to the water. Not only will this subsequently reduce the cooking time, but it will also completely remove the flatulence effect inherent in peas. Soaking time depends on the type of pea. If you decide to boil whole peas, the total soaking time will be about six hours.
If you need to use crushed peas, the time required for swelling will be reduced to three hours. Souring of peas during soaking leads to the fact that during cooking they may become hard as a stone and not cook at all. To know how to soak peas, avoiding this effect, it should be said that after water is poured into the peas, they should not be stirred or shaken.
If you do not have the opportunity to drain the water from the peas and start cooking after six hours from the start of soaking, then put the pan with the peas in the refrigerator. A low temperature will significantly slow down the swelling process of the peas and allow you to extend the soaking of the peas until the time you need.
In addition, the cold will prevent the peas from souring and foaming. If you are not going to use peas as a main dish, but they will just be an addition to the soup, then you can keep them in water for a much shorter time. It will be quite enough to keep whole peas in water for no more than two hours, or thirty minutes for crushed ones.
The soaking time can be significantly reduced if you replace the water several times during the soaking process. It should be noted that soaking in the summer also leads to a reduction in procedure time due to increased temperature. Based on this, it is quite justified that soaked peas, being close, for example, to a central heating radiator, will also allow you to start cooking significantly faster.
Soaking peas is a fairly simple procedure, but there are some tricks here that affect the taste of the finished dish and the cooking time. We will talk about all these tricks that every housewife should know in the article below.
Cooking without soaking
Ingredients:
- 400 g pork or beef;
- 400 g whole peas;
- large onion;
- 1–2 carrots;
- 3–4 potatoes;
- salt and spices.
Recipe:
- Pour cold water into the pan, add washed peas and chopped meat.
- After boiling, add salt and bay leaf.
- Cook the food for 1–1.5 hours.
- 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add the diced potatoes and fry them to the pan.
You can quickly cook peas in soup without pre-soaking in a pressure cooker.
Preparation:
- Pour water into the device, add peas, chicken, and vegetables.
- Salt and pepper the dish to taste.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Cook the soup for 20–30 minutes.
Peas without pre-soaking are cooked in the soup for at least 1–1.5 hours.
How to soak peas correctly (for soup, porridge and other pea dishes)?
On average, soaking time ranges from 5 to 6 hours. Housewives often leave peas to soak overnight or all day while they are at work. The method, in general, is justified, but only if the room where the peas are soaked is cool.
In cold weather, the soaking time can be increased by 1-2 hours; in hot weather, on the contrary, the time is reduced by an hour and a half.
The easiest way to save time is to soak the peas in the evening before going to bed, and then put them in the refrigerator in the place where it is warmest. Take it out early in the morning and you can cook.
Why is it important to maintain a certain soaking time? If you overcook the peas, they may sour and will be unsuitable for cooking. If you don’t hold it for a long time, it won’t have time to swell and will cook for a long time.
When soaking, you need to take into account that if the peas are split into halves (they can be seen on store shelves along with whole peas), then they will swell in water a little faster.
Pea soaking technology
The technology is as follows: take peas in the required quantity, carefully sort them out, remove all garbage and bad peas, after that they are thoroughly washed and filled with cold water. The water should completely cover it.
The required amount of time is waited, on average 5 hours, after which the water is drained and the peas are thoroughly washed in several waters. You can rinse directly under the tap with running water until the water is no longer cloudy.
After this you can start.
You can change the water several times during soaking - this will slightly shorten the procedure time.
The age of the peas also affects the soaking time; if they are old enough and have been stored for more than 8 months, then they need to be soaked longer. If it was recently collected or was stored for literally several months, then the soaking time is noticeably reduced.
In addition, peas can be wet or dry, depending on how they are stored. Wetter ones soak and swell faster than dry ones. They also cook faster.
When soaking, you can add a little soda to the water; this will speed up the softening and reduce the waiting time. It is recommended to add 2 tsp. soda per 100 g of peas and 1.5 liters of water.
Soda, among other things, also helps to avoid flatulence, which often accompanies eating pea dishes.
The main thing is not to forget to rinse it thoroughly afterwards to remove soda, otherwise boiled peas, pea soup or porridge with a soda flavor will not please you at all.
In addition, soda destroys vitamin B1, which is found in legumes. Therefore, you need to choose what is more important, the speed of preparing a dish (soup or porridge) or its usefulness and taste.
How to soak peas for soup, porridge?
There are no fundamental differences. The cereal is washed and filled with cold water (about 15 degrees). When the peas have doubled in size and swelled, you can cook them for pea soup or porridge. As a rule, this is the same 5-7 hours.
Don’t forget to add fried carrots and onions to the pea soup when cooking the peas; they will give the peas a special aroma and rich taste. You also need to add smoked meats (meat, lard, sausage) to pea soup, which ideally complement and enrich the pea taste.
Peas are a very healthy dietary product, rich in vitamins, minerals and having only 55 kilocalories per 100 grams. In the summer, everyone actively eats fresh peas, and at other times this vegetable is added to soups, side dishes and salads. However, in order for the heat-treated product not to lose its excellent taste, it is necessary to include a procedure such as soaking in the cooking process.
Classic recipe with soaking
Ingredients:
- 400 g chicken meat;
- 400 g yellow peas;
- 1 large onion;
- 1 carrot;
- 4 potatoes;
- salt and spices.
Preparation:
- Sort out the whole peas, rinse, cover with cool water, and leave for 5–8 hours. The crushed beans will soak in 30-40 minutes.
- Pour water into the pan.
- After boiling, place the prepared legumes and chicken into the bowl.
- Fry chopped onion, chopped or grated carrots in a frying pan.
- After 20 minutes, add the diced potatoes and fry them to the pan.
- Cook the soup, covered, until done.
- 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add salt and spices to taste.
Change the liquid periodically while soaking the peas.
Another option for cooking pea soup:
- To prepare the broth, place 500 g of meat in a saucepan and add 2-3 liters of water. If desired, add a whole onion, carrots, peppercorns, and celery.
- After foam forms, drain the liquid, rinse the vessel and fill the food with clean water. The second broth will be less fatty, more transparent and appetizing.
- Bring the meat to readiness, remove with a slotted spoon. After cooling, cut it into pieces.
- Add prepared beans and potatoes to the soup.
- Fry chopped onions, carrots, and sweet peppers in a frying pan.
- 10 minutes before the end of cooking, place the roast in the pan.
If you don’t have a lot of time to soak, cover the peas with cold water and add 0.5–1 tsp. soda, stir. After an hour, drain the remaining liquid and rinse the beans with clean water. Cook the product for 15–25 minutes.
Purpose of the procedure
Before cooking, peas are always washed several times in clean water - this removes starch, dust and dirt. Before this, you need to sort it out, eliminating spoiled and rotten peas. However, the need to soak hard peas is still questionable. Some chefs believe that this action is necessary, others believe that it is a waste of time.
Pros include things like reducing cooking time and preventing bloating. It is still better to soak whole peas, because such a product, regardless of the manufacturer and the condition of the fruit, cooks for more than two hours, and its pre-treatment will shorten this period. As for split peas, they cook for three quarters of an hour, which is not an overly long period of time, so you can do without soaking.
The main purpose of soaking is to control the cooking time of the peas. If you immediately add it to the soup, then other vegetables may overcook and become soft, and the peas will never reach readiness. And vice versa - the meat may not reach the desired consistency and remain tough, and the peas will already become porridge.
How and how long to cook peas in soup with soaking?
Most experts advise preparing legumes for heat treatment in the evening. This action has several goals: firstly, after soaking, they are less likely to cause flatulence, and if they are then served with dill or parsley, the risk of bloating and increased gas formation tends to zero. Secondly, after soaking, any legumes cook faster, since they are no longer as dry as right out of the package.
The difference in the duration of heat treatment will be colossal: if you pre-soaked, the peas will cook in an hour and a half.
The preparation process itself looks very simple: You need to rinse the peas well and fill them with cold water, and then put them in a cool place for 5-6 hours. If you leave it overnight, put it in the refrigerator, otherwise it will turn sour. After soaking, the peas must be carefully washed again. At the same time, keep in mind that you need to pour enough water so that its level is 4-5 cm above the level of the peas themselves.
Processing time
Soaking whole peas is carried out for five to eight hours. There is no single rule regulating the time of soaking: at night, after breakfast or at lunch. It all depends on when the finished dish is needed. Split peas, that is, divided into halves, can be soaked for no more than an hour. Depending on the condition of the grains, this time can be a third of an hour.
The fact is that small particles absorb liquid faster, which means they become suitable for further cooking, for example, soup. Using split peas greatly simplifies the entire cooking process.
By the way, if the dish is being prepared for cooking in a pressure cooker, then this step can generally be skipped.
With smoked ribs
Ingredients:
- 500 g pork ribs;
- 400 g peas;
- 150 g onion;
- 150 g carrots;
- 800 g potatoes;
- fresh parsley;
- spices.
Preparation:
- Cover the smoked ribs with water and cook for about an hour. Do not add salt to the broth.
- Peel, cut the potatoes into small cubes, leave in water. Also chop the onions and carrots.
- Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan with a thick bottom. First, fry the onion until golden brown, then the carrots.
- Rinse the soaked peas one last time, drain off excess liquid and add to the broth with the ribs. Add salt to taste and continue cooking for an hour.
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cook for half an hour.
- 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add spices to taste.
- Before serving, sprinkle the soup with chopped fresh herbs.