I grew up eating beans and lentils in my Mum's wonderful thick beef, vegetable and barley soup or lentil soup made with ham. We also often had baked beans. In adult life I've always enjoyed eating all sorts of pulses, there's always hummus in the fridge, and we are never without some tins and packets of lentils, beans and chickpeas in the cupboard.
I was listening to The Food Programme on Radio 4 yesterday and they were explaining how good pulses are for gut health. Also pointing out that a lot of the new, heavily promoted plant-based foods are actually very highly processed, so not a great idea to use as replacements for meat, fish or dairy. Pulses, however, are great cooked in fairly simple straightforward ways. Then there's the huge environmental benefit of growing pulses, which I remember learning about in History lessons about the Agricultural Revolution - because they are nitrogen-fixing plants, growing pulses in rotation with other crops improves soil fertility and reduces the need for fertilisers.
So, all in all, seems like a great idea to eat more of them. Any ideas? I already make vegetarian lasagne/chilli/bolognese, bean salads and soup, but it's always good to look at different recipes for new twists on old favourites. There is almost nothing I won't eat, and we have no allergies/intolerances to contend with, so I'll consider anything if it's not too time-consuming or eye-wateringly expensive. (We're not vegetarians, just trying to keep down consumption of meat, so pulse dishes with meat or fish are of interest too.)
Thanks in advance!