Celebrating with Refried Beans
When I am in a good mood, I like to cook. When I am in a very good mood, I like to cook things that take a long time. I guess it’s a celebration of the luxury of time.
So on Sunday, I cooked homemade refried beans. I soaked the beans on Saturday night, rinsed them on Sunday morning, cooked them very gently for several hours, salted them, cooked them some more, mashed them, and then sauteed some onions in spices and stirred in the beans. Oh, they tasted heavenly. They’re nothing too special to look at — OK, they’re downright ugly — but they taste like pure comfort food!
I served them with corn tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, and homemade salsa.
Ingredients
– one bag of pinto beans
– one teaspoon salt
– 4 slices bacon
– one minced onion
– 1 tsp cumin
– 1 tsp cayenne pepper
– 1/2 tsp turmeric
– 1 tbsp oregano
– 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Rinse and soak the beans in water overnight. Rinse them again and put them in a pot with water to cover about one inch. Bring them to a boil and immediately lower heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for approximately 2 hours, until the beans are just tender. Add the salt and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Mash the beans in the pot with the back of a spoon or a potato masher.
Fry the bacon in a skillet until it is crispy. Remove the bacon (use for another purpose). Add the onions to the bacon fat and fry gently until golden. Add the spices.
Put the mashed beans into the frying pan with the onions and saute over medium heat. If the beans are too dry, add some water. If they are too wet, continue frying until the water has evaporated and the beans are the consistency of mashed potatoes.
Stir in the grated cheese.
[-Janna]
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