Pregunta rara para Españoles en el UK sobre legumbres...

[Shitemum]

Hola,
Vivo en España desde hace 18 años. Hemos decidido volver a Escocia a vivir el año que viene.

Cuando estoy allí no encuentro legumbres cocidos en tarros de cristal, solo los que vienen en lata. Son realmente malos - no tienen nada que ver con los que hay aquí!

Puede parecer un detalle muy tonto pero estoy preocupada, comemos muchos legumbres, forman una parte importante de nuestro dieta.
Donde puedo encontrar garbanzos, lentejas, alubias blancas grandones etc. con el sabor y tamañao que hay aquí?!

[paow]

Hola! Si es que te vas a ir a vivir a las ciudades grandes, puede que encuentres algun deli como este lupepintos.com que los pueda ordenar para ti!

A que parte te vas a vivir ahora?
Yo estoy en Londres pero planeamos irnos a Edimburgo en los proximos anios, he descubierto que ahi tienen un playgroup en espanol!

Suerte

[kitbit]

Hi Shitemum The tinned garbanzos and alubias rojas in Britain are the same as the jarred ones in Spain, I can't tell the difference (and I'm quite fussy!). The lentejas are different though - but the nearest I have found in Britain are Puy lentils which come dried in boxes but you can cook them in the same way as spanish lentejas, no need to soak, just need to cook a little longer (add 15-20 mins for a cocida for example). They are a little bit more salty so add less salt to the cocida and it'll taste more or less the same.
Alubias blancas are exactly the same as tinned haricot beans, and also the same as the jarred versions are: tinned peas, new potatoes, white asparagus, carrots, alcachofas. Although fresh ones over there are MUCH cheaper and probably have more vitamins in. Especially at the moment - lots of supermarkets there are hot on fruit and veg being affordable so they are lots cheaper than here.
The only things I have found to be more expensive in the UK are olive oil, olives, pan barra, jamon, chorizo, other spanish meats. But veg - much cheaper.

Is there anything else you'd miss? I'm quite good at matching up foods - it's the one thing I did a lot of when we arrived in order to find things I liked here!

..and am v envious - I'd love to live in Edinburgh!

[witchandchips]

Tinned pulses are okay but agree that some can be rank, overcooked and sloppy (chick peas seem to be okay though). You can buy jarred beans over here in some delis and specialist shops. The problem is that spanish food is really trendy at the moment so priced a little bit at a premium.
so instead I buy dried beans, cook them in bulk and then freeze them in reasonable portions.

[Shitemum]

Thanks everyone! Some good tips and info...
I had such a horrible can of garbanzos from the local shop when I was there in the summer. They were tiny and had thick rubbery skins and tasted really boring, yuk. My kids didn't want to know and they usually gobble them up.
Will just have to test my way through every brand I suppose...!

Paow - where is the Spanish playgroup? Really need to tap into the Spanish-speaking community once we're there so the DDs don't lose their Spanish. We are thinking of changing to Spanish@home but I think OPOL would be easier and more realistic. DP's first language is Spanish but we've always spoken English together...

[harpomarx]

Hi Shitemum - think the chickpeas in jars are widely available from big supermarkets. My best Spanish friend always used to get them when he was in the UK, said they were much better (he used them for hummus, strangely enough, which he now misses now he's back in Spain). As for lentils, I buy dried ones (Puy or brown lentils, supermarkets or health food shops) to make things like lentejas con chorizo.

[paow]

Hi again, type spanish playgroup edinburgh on google and you will get what I told you about right at the top, they get together every week!
Good luck

[Shitemum]

paow - Gracias! No sé, llevo meses haciendo busquedas en google con todo tipo de combinaciones de las palabras 'Edinburgh, spanish, bi-lingual, playgroup, classes, children', etc. y no me salía nada!
Parece que hay varios, y classes para niños mas grandes en James Gillespie's school.

Igual nos vemos allí algún día...