It's been exciting to watch the slow adoption of Mexican food in the UK over the past few years, although there is still a lot of confusion over ingredients and techniques, and inevitably the differences between Southern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. I'd like to help out a little by posting occassional recipes for others to try at home and experience something different.
This is a basic recipe for refried beans I've used for a while. It can be prepared in just a few minutes and is the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican or Tex-Mex meal for several people. If you're familiar with refried beans you owe it to yourself to make them fresh at least once.
Basic Ingredients:
Black beans in water - available in 390g cartons at Sainsburys or 400g cans from organic suppliers
Lard or bacon grease
Onion
Garlic
Fresh or crushed jalapeņo
Cumin
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Optional ingredients:
Butter
Chipotles in adobo
Epazote leaves or Mexican oregano - available dried from MexGrocer
Useful tools:
Potato masher
Instructions:
In a bean pot or small saucepan heat a couple tablespoons of cooking fat. Lard or bacon grease is best (and healthy!) but you could use a vegetable oil instead.
Finely dice a white onion and add it to the hot fat to brown lightly for a minute or two. Add a few cloves of chopped garlic but don't let it burn.
When adding the beans you have two options. You can add them whole and mash them later, or mash them first and add the resulting paste to the fat. I prefer to add them whole. Either way keep the water with them and add them to the pot now while the fat is hot, then lower the heat to medium.
Add the following: Crushed or chopped jalapeņo to your preferred heat level, one level teaspoon cumin, one level teaspoon paprika, salt and coarse pepper to season. You could optionally add a teaspoon of butter for increased richness.
If you have epazote to hand you can add a pinch for taste. It has a fairly pungent flavor and you may want to sample it first. If you like the idea of smoky beans you could try adding mashed chipotle chiles instead of jalapeņos, which will also be spicier.
If the beans were added whole, mash them now to your preferred consistency. Some people like them pulped, others prefer to leave them chunkier with a few whole beans remaining.
Continue to cook for several minutes until the beans thicken to your satisfaction, then serve. Feta cheese may be crumbled over the beans for appearance.
This is a basic recipe for refried beans I've used for a while. It can be prepared in just a few minutes and is the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican or Tex-Mex meal for several people. If you're familiar with refried beans you owe it to yourself to make them fresh at least once.
Basic Ingredients:
Black beans in water - available in 390g cartons at Sainsburys or 400g cans from organic suppliers
Lard or bacon grease
Onion
Garlic
Fresh or crushed jalapeņo
Cumin
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Optional ingredients:
Butter
Chipotles in adobo
Epazote leaves or Mexican oregano - available dried from MexGrocer
Useful tools:
Potato masher
Instructions:
In a bean pot or small saucepan heat a couple tablespoons of cooking fat. Lard or bacon grease is best (and healthy!) but you could use a vegetable oil instead.
Finely dice a white onion and add it to the hot fat to brown lightly for a minute or two. Add a few cloves of chopped garlic but don't let it burn.
When adding the beans you have two options. You can add them whole and mash them later, or mash them first and add the resulting paste to the fat. I prefer to add them whole. Either way keep the water with them and add them to the pot now while the fat is hot, then lower the heat to medium.
Add the following: Crushed or chopped jalapeņo to your preferred heat level, one level teaspoon cumin, one level teaspoon paprika, salt and coarse pepper to season. You could optionally add a teaspoon of butter for increased richness.
If you have epazote to hand you can add a pinch for taste. It has a fairly pungent flavor and you may want to sample it first. If you like the idea of smoky beans you could try adding mashed chipotle chiles instead of jalapeņos, which will also be spicier.
If the beans were added whole, mash them now to your preferred consistency. Some people like them pulped, others prefer to leave them chunkier with a few whole beans remaining.
Continue to cook for several minutes until the beans thicken to your satisfaction, then serve. Feta cheese may be crumbled over the beans for appearance.
