Bean and Legume

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here's a light, fresh-tasting soup-stew from Hotel Château Erenstein in Kerkrade, the Netherlands.

We think bowls made of ice are the perfect vessel for this soup, but if space is tight in your freezer, regular soup bowls will work just fine. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 8 1/2 hr (includes chilling)

This colorful couscous can be prepared in about 15 minutes. To cut that down to 10 minutes, mince the carrots in a processor.

There will be more pecan pesto than you need for the beans, but it keeps well and can also be used on pasta, as a sandwich spread, or in potato salad.

Ginger and garlic give these pea pods a hint of Asian flavor, but we think they're a good all-purpose side dish.

These bean fritters appear in several West African countries; they are called akara in Nigeria and Sierra Leone and akla or koosé in Ghana. Although eaten as a snack or side dish, bean fritters are also consumed as breakfast food with hot sauce as an accompaniment (it's more like a thick relish than a sauce). We think the fritters are great as an hors d'oeuvre. Although we use vegetable oil for frying in our recipe, red palm oil is the preferred frying medium in Africa. And traditionally the black-eyed peas are skinned, but we think you get more bean flavor if you leave the skins on (and save a lot of time as well).