Refried Beans

Refried Beans (frijoles refritos) make an excellent dip, burrito filling, or tile grout.

Ingredients

• half a pound of dry pinto beans.
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
• Half an onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cooking

Soak the beans for 8 hours in room temperature water, 4 hours starting with hot tap water, or 1 hour starting by bringing the water to a boil then removing from the heat.

Drain and rinse the beans, add 3 cups water and 1 tsp baking soda. The baking soda makes the water more basic (higher pH) - acidic water prevents the beans from softening while cooking. Even in neutral water, older beans will not soften.

Bring the beans to a boil and lower to a simmer for 1 hour.

Heat the oil to medium low in a large saute pan. Dice the onion and begin slowly sauteing. When they're fully translucent lower the heat until the beans are nearly done. When the beans are nearly ready, bring the heat back up to medium low. Mince the garlic and add to the pan. Add the salt and cayenne, and give it all a good mix.

When the beans are starting to get mushy, drain them and reserve the cooking liquid. Add the beans to the saute pan and mash 'em (I use a stiff silicone scraper to squash them against the bottom of the pan). Add cooking liquid to reach desired consistency. Make it a bit more liquidy than seems right, because the bean starch will thicken it as it cools.

Dice some leafy greens, cilantro, tomatoes, and red onion - mix that up with some fresh squeezed lime. Fill a burrito wrap with beans and greens, pair with a margarita.