READIN

🦋 Recipe blogging: refried beans

Refried beans are a favorite dish of mine and I like to cook them now and then. I made them yesterday for my birthday party barbecue, and they came out very well. Here's how you do it:

• Soak about a pound of dry pinto beans overnight, in the refrigerator. I like to buy beans from places that sell them in bins; the bagged beans from Goya are not so good. I don't know if it's relative freshness or what. When you soak the beans, be sure to use enough water; I usually cover them to about 2-3 times the height of the dry beans.
• About 2 hours before you want the beans to be ready, put them up to boil in a stock pot, partially covered. Good things to add to the water are several bay leaves, and a yellow onion cut in half (with the skin on).
• While the beans are boiling, get the seasonings ready: roast and grind about 1/4 cup of cumin seeds and a Tbsp. of anise seeds; and reconstitute some dried chilis. You do this by pouring boiling water on them, waiting about 20 minutes, and then scraping the chili paste away from the skin with a spoon. Also you should be checking the beans occasionally to see that they are at a slow boil and are not too dry -- if they are, add water and return to a boil.
• When the beans are soft, fish out the bay leaves and onion (you could probably mash the onion and return it to the pot, but I have never done this), and turn the heat up to high. The water will start boiling away -- keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, and you will wind up with a sort of pasty consistency.
• Empty the pot into a bowl; heat up about 3-4 Tbsp. oil (canola or lard) in the bottom of the pot and fry 5 or 6 chopped yellow onions and about half a head of garlic, with the cumin and anise and chili paste. After about 5 minutes add the beans back in and lower the heat down to a simmer.
• You're basically good to go now -- my rule of thumb is that the longer this mixture simmers the better (within reason), but the downside is you need to pay some attention to it so it does not dry out or burn to the bottom of the pot. I usually end up simmering it for 15 minutes or so.

posted evening of Monday, May 17th, 2004
➳ More posts about Food
➳ More posts about Recipes
➳ More posts about Projects

Respond:

Name:
E-mail: (will not be displayed)
Link:
Remember info	Send