Recipe - Frijoles Refritos (Well-Fried Beans)

COOK BEANS
One half pound Beans (black turtle, pink,
or pinto)
10 cup Water (see note)
One fourth Onion, coarsely cut or sliced up
2 tablespoon Lard
1 tablespoon Salt, or to taste

FRY BEANS
One half pound Beans (3One half to 4 cups
w/broth), cooked (above)
6 tablespoon Lard, melted
One fourth Onion, finely chopped
2 ounce Farmer's cheese, crumbled
12 Totopos (tortilla chips)
Romaine lettuce leaves
5 Radish roses

COOKING BEANS

Rinse the beans and pick over. Put the beans in a pot, cover them with the
cold water, add onion and lard and bring to a boil. As soon as beans come
to a boil, but back heat, and let them simmer covered for1One half (for pink or
pinto) to 2 hours (for black), or until they are just tender but not soft.
Do not stir during this time. Add salt and simmer another 30 minutes. Set
aside, preferably until next day. There should be plenty of soupy liquid.

Heat the lard and fry the onion, without browning, until it is soft.

Add 1 cup of the beans and their broth to a 10inch frying pan and mash
them well over a very high flame. Add the rest of the beans gradually,
mashing them all the time, until you have a coarse puree.

When the puree begins to dry out and sizzle at the edges, it will start to
come away from the surface of the pan. As you let it continue cooking, tip
the pan from side to side. The puree will form itself into a loose roll.
This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Tip the roll, rather like folding an
omelet, onto a warm serving dish and garnish with the cheese. Spike it with
the crisp triangles of tortillas. Decorate the dish with lettuce and
radishes. Serve immediately.

You have to fry the beans almost dry to form the traditional bean roll or
brazo. The dark brown of the beans, sprinkled with the white cheese, looks
very attractive against the green and red of the lettuce and radishes. They
are served generally towards the end of the meal. Often they are just fried
to a loose paste and served with breakfast eggs or with Chilaquiles or
antojitos at supertime.

Any leftovers will freeze very well. To reheat, defrost the beans and then
fry them in a little more lard. A little chile serrano or jalepeno en
escabeche can be eaten with them. You may need to add a little water to
make them less dry.

NOTES : Water: 10 cups should be enough for black beans. More like 1214
for pinto or pink, but also depends on size of pot, how lid fits, etc., so
can't be exact.
Recipe by: From The Cuisines of Mexico, by Diana Kennedy, 1972, p. Posted
to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by Lou Parris
lbparris@earthlink.net on Mar 25, 1997