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Cream-coloured kidney bean with its characteristic black spot on its embryo. It is one of the most unknown legumes in Spain, with a characteristic texture and flavour. They are only popular in the north of Extremadura and the area bordering Castilla La Mancha and Castilla y León: in the provinces of Cáceres, Ávila and Toledo

Approximate weight 1000 grams

It is necessary to soak them the night before cooking. This soaking must be done with cold water, except for chickpeas, which we will soak with warm water. We must take into account that in areas where the water is hard (with a lot of lime), or high in elements such as magnesium; we will use bottled water of low mineralization. If we do not do it this way, we run the risk that the legume will be hard. For the same reason, salt should always be used at the end of the cooking period

The pressure cooker is not a friend of good quality vegetables. Just as a good wine loses qualities if we serve it in a plastic cup, pulses do with the pressure cooker. The casserole and the slow cooker are the fine crystal glass that accompanies this delicacy

Also, for a good cooking we recommend:

• Always remove the soaking water, for new water at the start of cooking, and rinse the vegetables with plenty of water. With this we get rid of the sugars that are released from the peel of the pulses.
• The cooking should always be over low heat. A strong boiling breaks the pulses, leaves them with a pitiful appearance and causes the skins to detach.
• The pulses should always be cooked slowly
• Pulses should always be cooked in cold water, except for chickpeas, which should always be cooked in boiling water
• "Scare" the pulses. This consists of adding a glass of cold water when the pulses start to boil. Repeat the same operation three times. In this way, we eliminate the oligosaccharides
• Cook with cumin and bay leaf