Recipe: Mexican Beans

Frijoles negros

Beans, beans the magical fruit. Many people have written about the health benefits of this near perfect food (fiber, protein, iron, oh my!), so I won´t go into it. Needless to say, you should eat beans! And not out of the can. It is so easy to make your own. With a pressure cooker, you don´t even really need to plan, no soaking or anything. And you need very few ingredients. If you have dried beans in your pantry, you always have a delicious and nutritious meal on hand, and they´re cheap! Probably the biggest bang for your buck in terms of nutrition and filling you up.

You will have to make them a few times in order to perfect the texture but that doesn´t mean your beans won´t be tasty, they just won´t be perfect J (I´m pretty sure that takes a while. I´m still working on it).

Here in Mexico, they say a house is not a home if there are no beans. In Puebla, black beans are the most common (and they are often referred to as frijoles Michigan!), but if you go to the market, you´ll be dazed by the different colors and sizes.

This recipe is of my own creation, incorporating some tips that Maru´s grandmothers have given me as well as some tricks we´ve developed on our own. One classic mistake you do not want to make is over-seasoning. Notice that besides the beans, even if you add in all the optional ingredients, it´s just onions, chile, epazote, and salt. No garlic, no cumin, no pepper, nothing. And if you just want to use onions and salt, your beans will be yummy. The things are bursting with flavor all on their own.

Also, if you are concerned about gas from beans, you can always use Bean-o, but in reality, if beans and other legumes (like lentils) are a regular part of your diet, you won´t notice any discomfort or excess gas, because your body will be used to processing them. So don´t worry about taking them to work for lunch!

Basic Beans (vegan depending on fat or stock used)

2 cups dried beans (black, pinto, whatever your preference)

1 medium white onion, halved

1 sprig fresh epazote (optional)

4-6 cups water

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (lard is good here too)

1-2 whole dried chiles (optional. Remove the stem and seeds. Pasilla, guajillo or chile de arbol are good.)

Salt to taste

1-2 cups chicken, veggie, or pork stock (optional)

First, you need to get those dried beans cooked. There are a few different ways to do this; in a pot on the stove for hours, in a crockpot, or in a pressure cooker. The latter, obviously, is the fastest way, and in my opinion, gives the best result. Our pressure cooker was left behind in the States, so we´ve been using the crockpot, which works, but the texture of the beans isn´t quite as good. If you are going to just do them in a pot, you will want to soak the beans overnight. For all three versions, rinse the beans well, place them in your pot of choice, cover with enough water or stock for the beans to triple in volume, put the onion and epazote (if using) in the water and cook. Don´t salt the beans for this first step as it may make them tough.

On the stove in a regular pot, covered: Bring to a roiling boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. The beans will take anywhere between 2-4 hours to cook, depending on how fresh they were to begin with.

In a crockpot: Cook them on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. This is a good way to do them overnight.

In a pressure cooker: Cook them under pressure for 35-45 minutes.

However you first cook your beans, you can taste them to see if they are done. Also, when you spoon out a couple and blow on them, the skin should split. Perfectly cooked beans should be soft but not mushy.

To finish the beans after they are cooked, thinly slice the other half of the onion. Heat the oil over medium heat in another pot large enough to hold the beans with water (a cazuela is perfect for this). Sautee the onions until they are beginning to soften and brown, about 5-7 minutes. If you want to use chiles, now is also the time to add them. Add about half a teaspoon of salt to the chiles and onion. Continue cooking and stirring as the onions brown (if a couple blacken, that´s ok. This is a dish where that is a nice flavor.). The chile will become very fragrant and blacken just slightly.

Here is the secret to a delicious finished bean broth. As your onions sautee (or before you start cooking them if you prefer to avoid multitasking in the kitchen), remove the other onion half and the epazote from the cooked beans. Remove the epazote leaves from the woody stem and discard the stem. Place the onion and the leaves in a blender with about a cup of the bean water and a half teaspoon of salt. Blend until smooth then add the mixture back to the beans. (Note: I have also been known to cook a dried chile with the beans and blend it up too. It´s nice and makes the final broth spicy.)

Once your sautéed onions and chile are ready, dump the beans and their water into the pot and stir to combine. Add another half teaspoon of salt and if you wish, now is a good time to add some stock. On its own, the bean broth will have a lot of flavor, but you can make it even richer with a nice homemade stock. It also depends on how watery you want them. Some people like a lot of broth. You need to have enough liquid for them to be covered, but beyond that, it´s your preference. Simmer this final mixture for at least 10 minutes and up to 30. The flavors will develop nicely. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Your beans are now ready to be enjoyed as is, as a side, for enfrijoladas, or however you like them. The beans are best the first and second day, but are good in your fridge for up to a week. Once they´ve been refrigerated for a few days, then you can consider making refried beans. Refried beans are supposed to be made with older cooked beans. It´s a way to bring them back to life.

Refried beans: Heat 1-2 tablespoons of veggie oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sautee a little onion (depends on how many beans you have left, you don´t want it to be too oniony) and a fresh, diced chile (jalapeño or Serrano). Add the beans to the pan with just some of their broth. Cook until hot, then start mashing them with a potato masher. Add more of the broth as they soak up the juice and until you get the consistency you want (again, personal preference dictates how liquidy you want your refried beans). Salt to taste, and you´re done. Takes about 10 or 15 minutes to make refried beans. Now they´ll be good in your fridge for another 3 or 4 days.

Go forth and make beans! Seriously.