Bring on the beans

BEANS are not every Englishman's first choice of food, but perhaps it is time they were given a little bit more street cred. Peas, beans and lentils, collectively known as pulses, come in dozens of varieties with a host of flavours and textures. Pulses form an important source of protein and iron for the human diet. They also take on the flavours of other ingredients extremely well - whether it's a heady mix of garlic and ginger in Indian dhal or the meaty flavour of sausage in a typically Andalusian stew of chickpeas and pork. They are the seeds of plants belonging to the family Leguminosae, which gets its name from the characteristic pod or legume that protects the seeds while they are forming and ripening. With approximately 13,000 species, the family Leguminosae is the second largest in the plant kingdom and it is very important economically. In every other European country there is a well-known traditional dish containing either lentils, butter beans, chickpeas, black-eyed beans or fava beans. We Brits however, seem to be a little behind in realising that baked beans on toast is not the only way to cook them.

My mother used to make us eat some kind of pulse at least twice a week. There were the usual tears, shouts of why can't we just eat normal food and, fears of asking what was for dinner, only to be told, lentil and bacon soup, bean and tomato hotpot with a parmesan crust, lamb and butter bean stew. It is not until now, ten years later I think how lucky we were to be introduced to an array of different types of beans, peas and lentils. The health benefits are endless, but most of all I think you have to be subjected to them when you are young, to appreciate them later in life. Let's be honest, most people are philistines about beans. They are referred to as a poor man's food, tasting of cardboard and having no flavour.

Founder of Easy Bean, Christina Baskerville, is fighting the bean cause and trying to change that attitude. And, judging by her five pots filled with the tasty delights, she could be on her way to getting the younger generations of our society to cave in to their inhibitions and shout "bring on the beans."

Driving to her office based at South Barrow near Sparkford I remembered my experiences with beans. I came to the conclusion they are quite like Marmite. You either like them or you hate them. But, there is probably a huge section of people who have not had a good experience with them as they are very hard to cook well, if you do not know what you are doing. Christina, who did her research on her products by standing in the canteen of a large London law firm handing out tasters and getting feedback, said: "It all started with a hunch. I knew that beans were becoming slightly more popular, but I thought perhaps people did not know what to do with them. My core consumer is the young professional who wants to eat healthily but does not have time to cook. My research showed they wanted to buy ready prepared, healthy, convenient food, and that is what is in my pots.

Christina first became passionate about beans after university. She was funded by the government to do a Masters and then to work on projects in developing countries. I went to Africa and Latin America, delivering aid to impoverished areas, and working with farmers in agricultural development, she said. "The most interesting job being in Belize. My brief was to work with indigenous farmers who were practising shifting cultivation, and one of the things we were encouraging them to do was to introduce kidney beans to enrich the soil. If you work in countries outside the UK, you come to realise pulses are a really important part of the diet and cuisine."

Years on Christina has been developing a range of one-pot dishes to try and encourage people in this country to introduce pulses in to their diets. She started up her company in November last year, and has already won two Great Taste gold awards from the Guild of Fine Food, for her pots of Spanish Puchero, and African Palava. "Although we have positioned Easy Bean as a premium brand for pulses, and hope to do lots of different foods, we have started with our meal pots," she said. The secret is to pack in a lot of flavour, whether it be herbs of spices. If the taste experience is great people will be back for seconds.

The Moroccan tagine, made up of chickpeas, aubergine, apricot and aromatic spices it is a perfect marriage. The Spanish Puchero is fresh and tangy with a good balance of butter beans, chorizo and smoky pimenton. The rest I have yet to try, but am looking forward to heating up a couple of pitta breads and the new Mexican chilli when I arrive home from work too late to cook from scratch. Christina has proven that beans does not always mean Heinz. The Easy Bean pots are sold in the Wholefoods market and Fresh and Wild in London, and in the South West, distributors include Bramble & Sage Home Farm, Sutton Montis, Sharpham Park Shop Kilver Court, Shepton Mallet, Goose Slade Farm Shop, East Coker, Yeovil, Littlemoors Farm Shop, Ham Lane, Wimborne, Washingpool Farm Shop, Bridport, and Wyndhams near Dorchester.

For further information contact 01963 441493 or trade.enquiry@easybean.co.uk. Miranda Shearer Fact File. Ten things people should know about beans. 1. More protein than any other vegetable ingredient. 2. High in both soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre helps the body to lower cholesterol in the blood. Insoluble fibre improves digestion. 3.Low in Gi index. Used as a diet for people with diabetes, the complex carbohydrates break down slowly like porridge, so you feel fuller for longer. 4. Low in fat. 5.Good source of iron. 6.80g portion of cooked beans counts as one portion of fruit and vegetables. 7. A source of natural phytoestrogens, isoflavanoids which are used for relief of menopausal symptoms. 8. Beans and pulses are legumes, these plants fertilise the soil as they grow. 9. Producing pulses uses far less of the world’s natural resources than meat or dairy production. 10. Protein from cereals such as wheat or rice, compliments the proteins in pulses- they are great with rice or couscous.