They are a rich source of vegetable protein, have high antioxidant content and are an alternative to meat consumption, providing a high level of satiety and low energy content.
In the past, people used to offer broad dry beans or the small "misiriotika" (another kind of beans), soaked for a few hours in salted water, the so-called "vrechtokoukia", as an accompaniment to raki. To this day, during the fasting period, beans are commonly eaten in a legume salad cooked mainly on the Eve of the Epiphany, as a memory of the ancient Greek panspermia (polyspores).
Dried beans are very popular. They are often eaten mashed in fava or cooked with potatoes, artichokes or wild greens.
