When I was growing up in Mexico, I spent more time at my grandparents’ home than my own. My grandmother was the best cook in our family. Everyone in my family cooks, and they are all great, but she was the best. Their house was right across the street from mine, so I was always there.
I have always been an early bird, even during summer vacations. I would wake up early just to see my grandpa off to work, waiting by the fence to wish him luck. He had the key to our front gate, so he would let me out and take me over to his house so I wouldn’t wake up my parents and sister. My parents knew this routine, so they were never scared that I had gone missing.
Being up that early at my grandmother’s house meant prepping for the week. She would take full advantage when I was there; she would make me water the plants, clean or help her in the kitchen, which is where most of my favorite memories of each her live. While she made us coffee, I sat at the kitchen table cleaning dried beans, separating the rocks and debris. It is a simple ritual that I still enjoy today. Every time I make them, I think of those mornings at her house. It’s one of those recipes that is ingrained in our DNA. I eat beans every day; however, it depends on whether I wasn’t too tired the night before to soak them. This is a simple recipe, just time consuming, but worth it in every way.
Recipe: Frijoles De Olla
Yield: 2 cups of dried beans will yield roughly 4 to 5 cups of cooked beans. This equals about three standard 15-ounce cans.
Ingredients:
2 cups of dried pinto beans (or any dried bean available to you), soaked overnight
1 white onion, cut into halves
6 garlic cloves, peeled. I use a whole head of garlic but that’s just me.
1 tablespoon o f salt, or to taste
Note on Chiles (peppers): Some people like to add dried chiles (árbol, cascabel, guajillo) or fresh chiles (jalapeño, serrano, habanero) straight into the pot. I don’t, because I treat this batch as my baseline. If I want to develop deeper flavors, I will do it after the beans are cooked. This is mostly because people have different levels of spice tolerance.
Like ME: One time I tasted my aunt Lola’s beans. She loves her food to be super spicy and usually adds habanero to everything. Well, I was 5 years old. I had no clue this was the way she lived her life. My mouth was on fire, I cried for a long while, and to say the least. I never tasted anything in her kitchen again!
Method
Prep Note: Before cooking, make sure to sort through your dried beans to discard of any rocks or debris. Rinse them thoroughly, cover with cold water by at least 2 inches, and soak at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse them one final time before cooking them.
To a large pot or Dutch oven, nothing smaller than 6 quarts, add the soaked beans, onion, garlic cloves and 8 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer with a lid slightly open.
Cook for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep a close eye on the liquid as it reduces. If the water drop below the beans, add more hot water. Make sure they are covered by at least one inch. Do not add cold water, as it will slow down the cooking process.
When the beans have 30 minutes left of cooking, add the salt.
To test for doneness, you can fish out one bean and press it between your fingernails. If it smashes easily like a baked potato and it holds it shape. Your beans are ready.
You can eat them as-is at this point, add them to a soup or have them with some eggs for breakfast. But we are going an extra step further. I am teaching you how to make refried beans next.
When I think of refried beans, my mind goes right back to Mexico. Refried beans tucked into a warm flour tortilla were my ultimate childhood comfort food. I distinctly remember my mom bringing them to our school during lunch breaks for my sister and me. Free school lunches are not a thing in Mexico; parents either send you with money for the cafeteria or street vendors, or they drop off your food. My parents always chose to drop off our lunches.
In fact, even getting into school was a challenge. Education is not free in Mexico, like it is for most children in the U.S. From elementary school on, you have to pay tuition, and enrollment isn’t guaranteed either. Schools have limits on how many children they can accept every semester. Parents would have to line up outside the school for days just to secure a spot for their children. While my dad stood in those long enrollment lines, we would bring him breakfast, lunch and dinner. My mom or grandpa would even take his spot so he could go home, shower, and get back in line later that day.
And what is the best meal to eat while standing up on a crowded sidewalk? Tacos filled with warm refried beans. It’s wild how a simple meal carries the weight of those memories. Today, I use the fresh frijoles de olla we just made to recreate that exact comfort. Here is how to transform them.
Recipe: Refried Beans
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of sunflower oil, lard, corn oil, olive oil, or coconut oil (your choice)
1/2 white onion, chopped into small pieces
4 cups of cooked beans
1 cup of bean broth
Tip for Ultra-Smooth Beans:: If you prefer your refried beans to have no lumps or skins, use an immersion blender to blend the cooked beans and broth together in a separate bowl before pouring them into the hot pan with oil.
Method
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Use either cast iron or stainless steel.
Sauté onions until you get golden brown edges.
Carefully add the beans and bean broth into the pan with the onions.
Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer.
Use a potato masher to smash the beans directly in the pan until you reach your preferred consistency.
Once they are smashed, start stirring the beans constantly. Cook for 10-15 minutes (depending on how hot your pan is) until they look pasty and start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Trust me, it’s worth it!
Give your pan a gentle shake. If all the beans slide together as one cohesive mass across the pan, your refried beans are ready.
To Serve
Sprinkle some crumbled queso fresco over the top of your beans and enjoy them with tortillas chips, or tuck them inside a flour tortilla.
Variations:
Every household makes their beans differently. Some lean into chiles, others pile on the onions, some strictly use lard (like my grandmother), and others layer in fresh herbs. Ultimately, it comes down to what you are craving. Here are a few of my favorite ways to change things up:
Garlic Confit Boost: I love garlic, so I tend to go heavy. When I have time, I love making a batch of garlic confit and tossing it into the pot of beans during the final 20 minutes of cooking. I do this to all my soups. As you can see, I love garlic.
The Chile Kick: You could add dry chiles (árbol, cascabel, guajillo) or fresh chiles (jalapeño, serrano, habanero) right into the frying oil with the onions to give the beans and extra kick. I like this variation with black beans, it’s way better when the bean broth carries the heat (this is my mom’s favorite variation). You can add chiles while you boil your beans or after while you refry them. Its up to you.
Traditional Lard Method: If you intend to use lard for your refried beans, make sure to heat the lard on low medium heat until it changes color to a golden light brown. This is when you can add half an onion cut in small cubes, let the edges get golden brown then add your beans and mash them. Work on getting them to the right texture of refried beans or whichever texture you like (this is my favorite variation).
Notes on Texture
The texture of your beans is completely up to you. Sometimes I like mine to be chunkier and rustic, and other days I want them creamy and smooth. Sometimes I want them more loose, so I add extra bean broth, it makes the perfect dip for a piece of sourdough bread.
So much information I know, I did not even get into Ollas but I do not want to overwhelm you. I hope you enjoyed this recipe and if you make it let me know which direction you chose.
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oh I didn't know I had to cook them until they moved as a mass! will do this next time. my gift to my future self is homemade bean and cheese quesadillas in the freezer always ready to go.
What a beautiful story. Sounds like such a wonderful way to grow up. This came at the perfect time. I bought pinto beans and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Looking forward to making this.