Vigna
Vegetables play an essential role in human life. They are an important source of vitamins and minerals, and legumes are also rich in complete proteins. The legume family is represented by various types of vegetable crops. Among them there are also little-known plants, for example, cowpea. The exotic name hides a vegetable that is very useful for humans.
Cowpea beans
Beans belong to the legume family and have more than 230 varieties. She is from Central and South America. However, the cowpea, which is also called beans, is not, by and large, such, because its homeland is Africa. Nevertheless, the striking similarity of these two vegetable crops contributed to the borrowing of the name.
The cowpea is an annual plant, it can be bush or climbing. Grown only in culture, it cannot be found in the wild. Fruits in the form of beans, which can reach a length of 1 m, are considered special. They are eaten unripe, at the stage of milky ripeness, when the pod length does not exceed 50 cm. At the same time, the bean's valves, which do not have a parchment layer, have a very delicate taste.
There are three main varieties of cowpea beans:
- Japanese;
- Chinese;
- Shrub.
The first two of them are curly, they differ in seed color and pod width. The Japanese cowpea has black seeds and a wider pod. Chinese beans have brown seeds. The absence of a coarse fibrous layer on the bean valves allows it to be eaten whole. In this regard, these plant species are called asparagus cowpea. In the bush form, the shoulder blades are rather coarse and are not eaten.
Both useful and beautiful
Green beans contain a lot of nutrients. In terms of calorie content, it ranks first among vegetable crops. Regular consumption of cowpea helps to regulate the level of hemoglobin in the blood, since in terms of the content of its most important protein - albumin - this vegetable is comparable to poultry meat. Beans are highly digestible and contain all the essential amino acids, many of which are not found in livestock products.
The high nutritional value of this vegetable crop is associated with a high content of protein, mineral salts and vitamins. Of the minerals, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, iodine predominate. Vigna asparagus is a dietary product, it is recommended for diseases of the liver and nervous system. The leaflets contain a substance that lowers blood sugar levels.
The advantages of beans are not limited to its beneficial nutritional properties. Many are attracted by the decorativeness of this plant. Climbing plants with beautiful light purple flowers often decorate gazebos, fences, and verandas.
Vigna - recipes
Beans are nutritious and at the same time a dietary product, so eating them is very useful. Vigna is eaten both fresh and canned, fried, boiled, stewed. Beans are used in cuisines of different nations. There are the simplest recipes for cooking delicious cowpea dishes. For example, Georgian green beans lobio.
This will require the following ingredients: cowpea, onions, tomatoes, sunflower oil, garlic, parsley and cilantro, basil, ground black pepper, salt. Cooking method:
- Boil the diced beans in boiling water for 3-5 minutes;
- Scald the tomatoes and peel them off;
- Fry the onions;
- Mix beans and tomatoes with onions, pour over the broth in which the cowpea was cooked and simmer;
- Add herbs and garlic, pounded with salt, and pepper.
Lobio is a separate dish, it can also be served as a side dish for meat.
Vigna, the recipes for which are quite simple, can be cooked at any time of the day.
For breakfast, asparagus beans in batter are perfect - a very nutritious and easily digestible dish. It requires: green beans, eggs, parsley and dill, vegetable oil, flour.
Cooking method:
Boil cowpea in salted water, cool, then dry a little
- Beat eggs, salt and mix with chopped parsley and dill;
- Dip the asparagus beans in the egg sauce, roll in flour and fry in vegetable oil.
Vigna beans are an interesting and, most importantly, a very healthy vegetable crop. Besides its high nutritional value, it is also very decorative. Familiar only to a certain circle of amateurs, the asparagus cowpea is gradually expanding its positions. This allows more and more people to significantly diversify their diet, making it nutritious and healthy.
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