Cool and creamy lentil salsa under hot grilled fish fillets...Chilled white beans with Chinese peanut sauce...Gingered black-eyed pea and parsnip soup... Savory, deeply satisfying, packed with vitamins, low in cost, and now -- ready in minutes! For years we've known how good beans are, but who had time for all that soaking, waiting, and cooking for hours? Now The Instant Bean lets us have our beans -- and our busy lives, too. From filling and flavorful soups that are ready in less than thirty minutes but taste as if they've been simmering all day, to easy one-dish meals that are elegant enough for company and satisfying enough to feed a hungry family, this essential cookbook gives you more than 150 new and delightful ways to put beans on your table -- fast! Whether it's fragrant Chickpea and Coriander Pesto spread on toasted pita bread, delicate Cannellini Beans with Lemon and Basil, or mouthwatering Black Bean Chocolate Mousse Pie, you'll find fabulous, inventive recipes for pita pizzas, no-cooking icebox soups, wrapped salads, and skillet dinners. These spirited dishes are filled with exotic flavors from Italy and India to the Far East. Noted cookbook authors Sally and Martin Stone also show you how a simple bean spread can add zip to baked potatoes, make a zesty filling for an omelet, or become a no-cook pasta sauce. They give you the lowdown on a variety of legumes, from limas to split peas. For instance, did you know that lentils are the fastest-cooking dried bean? Or that if you saute canned black beans to make them slightly crispy they make the perfect foil for tiny pasta? Plus they offer tips on choosing and preparing the perfect accompaniments for your bean dishes. Bonus: 1/2 cup of canned beans have the same cholesterol-lowering ability as 3 pounds of tofu!