I noticed there didn’t seem to be a vegetarian community, and sharing vegetarian recipes is one of my favourite uses of other threaded link-sharing websites, so I’ll kick things off with a thread about beans and legumes - the pulse family. Anyone have a favourite use for these absurdly versatile vegetables?
Personally, I love aquafaba. The stuff is insane. This is the water that comes off canned chickpeas, and can be harvested from the thick discard water from any cooked beans as well. It can mimic egg whites in a huge number of uses, from mixed alcoholic drinks to meringue in the right circumstances. I eat eggs, but sparingly, and I can’t believe how versatile this danged liquid is.
Is it safe to use coming from BPA lined cans and such? I usually rinse the shit outta canned beans, because I don’t trust the lining, extra sodium, and bean slime. Have I been missing out, and wasting a versatile ingredient?
In Canada at least, bpa is being phased out of tin cans… Although the phaseout is just in favour of other compounds that are less studied.
I’d be less concerned about a tablespoon of aquafaba than about the rest of the contents of the can, myself. However you can get the stuff by cooking your own chickpeas or beans, so if you’re concerned, I’d just eschew canned beans entirely and make your own. Just do a first pass cook in less water and keep the drippings, and you’ll have this thick protein slurry that can be used like egg whites. It’s definitely great stuff!