Mexican Beans - Frijoles de Olla

1 pound of beans (pinto beans, black turtle beans, or other)

1/2 white onion, roughly chopped

1 generous tablespoon butter

1 generous tablespoon dried epazote

3 bay leaves

salt to taste

Rinse and drain the beans and put them in a large pot with water to cover by several inches.

Put the epazote in a tea infuser (photo) and add it along with the bay leaves, butter and onion to the water in the kettle. Bring the water to a simmer and simmer the beans gently until the skins are soft. The amount of time needed will vary depending on the type of the beans and their age. Add salt to taste and continue to simmer. (Never add salt to beans at the outset. This will make the beans tough.)

As the beans are cooking, check frequently to be sure the water hasn't evaporated too much. It may be necessary to add more hot water from time to time. The beans are done when they are quite soft and thoroughly cooked. (Again this will vary with the age and type of bean used.)

Allow the beans to come to room temperature, remove the tea infuser and bay leaves and promptly refrigerate or freeze the beans. (Beans will ferment very quickly at room temperature, as I learned when I once returned home to find a pot of chili bubbling on the stove. There was no heat under it.)

Variations: You can add garlic and/or diced chile pepper to the beans.

Refried Beans: For low fat refried beans, just mash some beans and some of the cooking liquid in a skillet, using a potato masher. For richer refried beans, melt some butter in the skillet first, then add the beans and liquid. In either case, you can add some cumin to taste.

Filling for Burritos

This is the recipe I developed for burrito filling. As with most soups and stew-like dishes, it is best made a day before serving. Roasting the pasilla pepper over an open flame first would probably improve the dish, but I didn’t take the time.

You can substitute zucchini for the Mexican grey squash. You can use whatever onions you have handy in place of the white onion. Anaheim or even green bell peppers could substitute for the pasilla. You can use white rice in place of brown, but I find that brown rice tends to hold its texture better (in addition to having more nutrients).

You can use this as filling for tamales as well, if you leave out the rice.

Burrito Filling

2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
Pinch of cinnamon

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 large pasilla pepper, veins and seeds removed, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced (or more to taste)
1 Mexican grey squash, chopped

1 15 ounce can of tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
2 15 ounce cans of beans (black or pinto), drained and rinsed

OR

4 cups home cooked beans
8 large green pimiento stuffed olives, chopped
Red pepper flakes, fresh ground black pepper, to taste.
½ cup of water
Salt to taste

Toast the cumin, oregano and chili powder in a dry pan over medium heat until very fragrant and nearing the smoking point. Add the paprika and cinnamon and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, sauté the onions and pasilla pepper in oil over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic, stir, and sauté a couple of minutes. Add the squash and cook, stirring, until it has softened slightly. Add the reserved herb and spice mixture and stir well to combine.

Add the tomatoes, beans, olives, pepper flakes, pepper, and water. Simmer 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. (The liquid will continue to absorb as the mix cools.) Stir in the cooked rice and add salt if needed. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature, then refrigerate or freeze right away, as beans will ferment quickly if left at room temperature.

This recipe makes enough filling for at least a dozen burritos, at a cost of about 27 cents a serving for the filling, plus about 20 cents a serving for a large flour tortilla. You can add cheese if you like when you roll the burrito, but I found that the filling is so flavorful that the cheese tended to get lost, so I forgo the expense, calories and fat the cheese adds. (Plenty of uses for cheese elsewhere!)

My Burrito Epiphany

A few weeks ago I was standing in Safeway and found myself unable to part with $1.99 for a six ounce organic bean burrito, although I'd bought them frequently when they were thirty cents cheaper and the stock market was many thousands of points higher. But no more. After all, that comes to about $5.30 a pound for what? -- a tortilla, some beans and a microscopic bit of cheese. I thought, "I can do better than that."

Since last fall, I've been consciously spending less on groceries, but I had yet to make the leap to committing to spend more time cooking. I'm there now.