THE KITCHEN

Pulses

Red lentils
The most versatile of pulses for cooking as they do not really require soaking, so can be ready for a tasty pepper filling or base for Fruit and nut loaf or falafel in just 30 minutes. They will not sprout as it is split.

Black eye and kidney beans
Both of these beans don't make particularly good sprouts, but are fantastic for making your own Chinese or Mexican sauces/chillies.
Very simple to make, their leftovers can be used to make great wraps for lunches.
Use either bean, changing the spices, using ground cumin, paprika and chilli for Mexican or Chinese 5 spice as appropriate.
They require soaking overnight before cooking.

Yellow Peas
As with red lentils so does not sprout as they are split. Yellow peas are the base for Pease pudding; a classic northern English dish often served with fish and chips.
They are though fantastic for Dahl, in casseroles and of course a great base for soups.
They can be put straight into the recipe you are using, but a little soaking will speed up the cooking time.

Chick Peas
Both my chickpea coriander casserole and houmus are now made with sprouted chickpeas. They are perhaps the easiest to sprout and once you have tasted them sprouted, feel you will never cook them again.
Sprouted and ground for houmus and falafel, also added to thicken dressings, or simply whole into salads. See recipe 2 and 4 lunches and snacks

Mung Beans
Very versatile, they cook quite quickly without soaking in a Dahl or casserole. They make fantastic sprouts, and are what Chinese bean sprouts are made from.

Alfalfa
The most fascinating of sprouts to watch grow, they take 3-4 days to get going but then you can see them doubling their size each day. As they are such small seeds the sprouts they produce never seem to go tough.

Puy lentils
Small and dark green, the queen of lentils, they give tender delicious sprouts and are fantastic prepared for any casserole or cottage pie, with either tomato or cream sauces.
Sprout them together with some brown lentils, they take the same time to sprout, and their colour combination is beautiful.

Brown lentils
Ideal for cooking or sprouting Best soaked before hand, but this is not essential.
They are a favourite as a base for a satisfying Lentil cottage pie.