This Mexican black bean kit from the Cool Chile Co., who are based here in London, makes black beans for Frijoles de la Olla for 8 people. The kit comes with a recipe sheet, 500g of black beans, 6g epazote, 2g dried chiles and 12g smoky sweet powder - delicious!
What you get:
500g black beans
4g dried epazote
2 whole chile de árbol
smoky sweet paprika (for making refry)
What you need for Frijoles de la olla:
1 small to medium sized onion
1 teaspoon salt
What you need for refry:
125ml vegetable oil or vegetable fat or home rendered lard
½ teaspoon salt
Equipment needed:
strainer to rinse beans
saucepan with lid or better yet a pressure cooker sharp knife
for refry: frying pan and potato masher or food processor
The recipe
Frijoles negros de la olla
Rinse the beans in a strainer under cold running water, removing any stones that you find. Put the beans in a saucepan with 1.5 litres of cold water, the epazote, chile de árbol and the onion, peeled and diced. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, once boiling, turn down to a simmer, keeping covered. Check periodically, topping up with water as necessary, the beans should be free floating in the water to cook evenly. Cook until soft and creamy, this should take about 2 hours. Add the salt, stir and serve. If you have a pressure cooker this is the time to use it. Simply put all of the above ingredients in to the pressure cooker, apply the lid and cook on full steam for 40 minutes, cool release lid.
Making vegetarian refry
Make the frijoles de la olla as above.
Peel and dice the onion. Heat the oil in a large frying pan if you have one if not a saucepan. Add the onion and cook until translucent, add 1 tsp of smoked paprika if you like, stir. Add all of the beans and mash with a potato masher. This will give you a rustic texture, for a smooth texture use a food processor to puree the beans and then add stirring all the while. Cook until thick and glossy, being careful not to burn the bottom. Be careful as well, as bubbling, spitting beans will burn your skin.
To serve Refry:
Turn out into a dish, sprinkle with crumbly cheese such as ricotta salata and spike with triangular corn chips, arranging so they are pointing up like a hedgehog.
Refry can also be used in tacos, tostadas or sandwiches in conjunction with other ingredients. Spread evenly on bread or tortillas and then add your chosen topping.
Storage
Beans will keep in the fridge covered for about 3 days. They also freeze well. Always reheat beans thoroughly, stirring to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom of your pan.
500g
Ingredients: black turtle beans, smoked paprika, dried epazote, arbol chillies
