Frijoles!


Beans are one of the staple foods of Mexico. They are served with their broth, in bowls like soup, usually after the main course of the meal. Often they are mashed and cooked with lard and known as frijoles refritos, or well-fried beans. Often, cheese, chiles, and onions or other ingredients are added to the frijoles refritos. Here are several recipes for you to try. Enjoy!

FRIJOLES BORRACHOS

Serves: 6 or more

The word borracho was a 19th century term for a drunkard, so this recipe's name literally means "drunken pinto beans." Simmering the pintos in beer, with lots of cilantro, results in a very special flavor.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes or 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 large scallions, chopped
4 cups cooked pinto beans
l/2 cup beer
1/3 cup chopped
fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced, or one 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the tomatoes and scallions and saute over moderately low heat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together,then simmer, covered, over low heat for 30 minutes. If there's too much liquid in the skillet at this time, cook, uncovered, until it thickens up a bit. Serve hot, with warm tortillas.

FRIJOLES REFRITOS
Recipe from The Wide, Wide World of Texas Cooking

1 batch Frijoles
lard or bacon drippings

Cook pinto beans as described in the Frijoles Borrachos recipe, or use leftovers.

For 2 cups of cooked beans, heat 6 tablespoons of lard or bacon drippings in a heavy iron skillet over moderate heat. Add the beans. As they fry, mash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Continue to fry and mash them until they are dry enough to shake loose from the bottom of the pan in a mass. The inner portion of this mass will (or should) be moist. The bottom surface will be slightly crusty. The consistency is not necessarily smooth like a puree, though it may be.

FRIJOLES RANCHEROS

2 cups dried pinto beans
water
1 cup diced bacon or salt pork or meaty ham bone
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 fresh tomato, chopped
12 oz can beer
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (optional)
Wash beans well. Combine beans, beer, and water to cover beans by 2". Soak overnight.

The copyright of the article Frijoles! in Spicy Cuisine is owned by Judy Howle. Permission to republish Frijoles! in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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