Pulses are a large and varied family that get a bad reputation when they are badly prepared or undercooked. It is common in most Western food cultures to use parts of tasty ham, such as ham bone, to cook together with pulses. Sometimes this is for flavouring boiled pulses, sometimes it’s done as an ingredient in the preparation of bean stews, soups or casseroles.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture has registered no less than eleven PGI (protected geographical indicators) in the pulse family: la Alubia de la Bañeza-León; la Faba Asturiana; la Faba de Lourenzá; las Judias de El Barco de Ávila; la Mongeta del ganxet; el Garbanzo de Fuentesauco; el Garbanzo de Escacena; la Lenteja Pardina de Tierra de Campos, la Lenteja de la Armuña, and el Fesol de Santa Pau.
León, Asturias, Ávila, Lugo, Barcelona, Huevla, Valladolid, Salamanca and Girona