1. Many dried pulses such as beans and chickpeas need to be soaked in a bowl of cold water overnight before cooking, doing so will shorten their cooking time.
2. Make sure they’re generously covered with water and leave for at least 8hr. Alternatively, pour boiling water over and leave to cool for 1-2hr.
3. Drain pulses, they will now be hydrated and bigger in size. Put in a large pan and add enough water to cover by at least 5cm (2in). Bring to boil rapidly for 10min.
4. Skim off scum that rises to top and leave to simmer until beans are soft inside. Check there's enough water to keep beans well covered.
5. Chickpeas take 2hr until tender. Red kidney beans take 1½ to 2hr until tender. Cannellini beans take 1½hr until tender. Borlotti beans take 1½hr until tender. Butter beans take 1hr until tender. Flageolet beans take 1 -1½hr until tender. They’re ready when tender but not falling apart.
6. Drain well and serve.
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White China oval plate, Sophie Conran. Classic glass measure jug (1 litre), Classic glass bowl (1 / 2 litres), Pyrex. Large stainless steel colander, Lakeland. Montreux saucepan (3 litres, 20cm), Black two-tone silicone scraper, Kuhn Rikon UK. Loft 24-piece dinner set, Zwilling J.A. Henckels.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
