Refried Beans

I like beans. Traditionally in Mexico the beans are pretty plain, and the rice has tomatoes, onions, garlic, spanish rice,  you know the deal. I like my rice plain, and my beans interesting. I also like to eat my beans with ketchup, sometimes. If this horrifies you, voiding your interest in this recipe/my cooking in general, tough luck! Using ingredients cross-culturally, without being fusion-y/trendy is my deal. It's tasty, I promise. 

Some of the things I do are unusual: I like to cook the beans in tea made out of epazote, the Mayas did this, epazote aids digestion. Sometimes I'll throw in some kaffir lime leaves (a thai thing), limes are used alot in mexican cooking so this works for me. Asafoetida, is a cool ingredient. It's an indian spice, really strong smelling, James Beard has said it smells like truffles, dunno about that. The stuff does wonders for the digestion. Alas, it is usually cut with wheat flour, so be aware if you are a GF person. Something orange, either booze or juice is really nice in beans, it's a cuban thing, I think. 

The ingredient list is basically everything that I have used over the years, choose your own adventure. Pictured are oregano, orangecello in its frosty bottle, and chipotles in adobo.

Refried Beans:

inspired by the Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy and the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

2 c dry beans (mix of pinto, black, anasazi, adzuki)

water, stock, epazote tea, thyme tea

a couple whole dried chiles, to taste

1-2 bay leaves

4 kaffir lime leaves

1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo

1/2 T whole cumin seeds

1/2 T whole corriander seeds

1 T ancho chile powder

pepper

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t asafoetida

4 cloves garlic

onion

serrano chilies and/or poblano peppers

oregano

salt

cointreau, grand marnier, tripple sec, controy, orangecello, oj

fresh epazote

Cover sorted, rinsed beans, with about an inch of water, bring to a boil. You don't have to pre-soak the beans. Also dry chiles and leaves go in now. 

Turn down to a simmer, cover, cook 2 hours or so, boil away excess liquid at end.

When soft, mash them with a potato masher or a stick blender. Add salt and chipotle.

Grind cumin/corriander (in a coffe grinder solely for spices, or mortar/pestle).

Toast cumin/corriander, low heat, till it lightly smokes.

Add chile powder, pepper, let that smoke a little, too.

Add oil, asafoetida, medium heat.  

Let that go for 30 sec, then add chopped garlic.

Let that go for 2-3 min, then add onion and salt, high heat.

Add fresh chiles.

Stir, but let it stick some, too.

Deglaze with orange stuff.

Repeat sticking/deglazing for 10 min.

Add beans. Cook till it's dry-ish.

Add some fresh epazote if you grow it.

Epazote tea I make with dried epazote, thyme tea with fresh thyme. In both cases use leaves and stems. For epazote, simmer it in the water for awhile. For thyme, pour boiling water over and let steep for awhile.

 

This is from Jungle Curry II, last night, with Tammy y Luis.