Refried Beans ~ a low fat healthy version

Frijoles refritos(refried beans), are beans that are fried with oil/fat, mashed and then refried again. That's the meaning of refrito- twice fried. Refried beans in Mexico are traditionally cooked or fried in lard. I know it's sounds gross and fatty, but the lard does adds flavor. That said I hate lard and I don't cook with it. This is how I have cooked my "refried" beans for years. This recipe is simple and hassle free, and most importantly it's a lighter low fat, and completely vegan/vegetarian version. Why? because you wont use any oil or fat what so ever.

You need some cooked beans, the amount depends on how much you want. You can see an older post on how to cook dry beans.

You need to strain your beans but make sure you reserve some of the liquid, or you'll need a little water. In a large pan over medium low heat add 2Tbs of the bean broth or plain water , then add your beans. Now you need a potato masher, and slowly starts mashing your beans, if they are too dry add a little more liquid. Don't mash completely, you want to leave some whole or unbroken, so that they don't get to runny. (in case that you over mash, you'll need to cook longer to burn off some of the liquid.)

Continue to cook for a couple minutes and stir to prevent from burning. You can taste them now to see if they need more salt or add any other spices that you want. Some people take a chopped onion and fry along with the beans. I like to keep it simple for these type of beans.

There you have it, fast, easy, healthy, delicious and nutritious!!

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Mexican Beans

Frijoles,Beans are an essential part of Mexican food, I remember when I was growing up my Mom always had a pot on the stove or ready made in the refrigerator for our weekly meals. If you want to make good Mexican food you should learn how to make simple beans to work with that you can later add other ingredients or spices to. Although you could just buy a can of beans nothing compares to the fresh-no preservative- no tin can taste of home made beans, (buying dry beans is also cheaper). Pinto beans are the most common bean used, although some regions use black beans, and we will be using Pinto beans here.

The very first thing you need to do is clean your beans, of course running them under water, but you also need to pick out the pieces of rocks or really dirty ones, I also discard the split halves. This is quite normal.

There are 3 ways you can cook your beans, 1. you could soak the beans in water overnight to soften them and shorten the cooking time.2. You could use a pressure cooker, this shortens the cooking time considerably. I'm not a fan of pressure cookers, it could be from a "childhood scar". One day my Mom was using her pressure cooker, goes into the kitchen to check on the beans. Then we heard a load banging noise, and my Mother screaming. We ran to the kitchen and saw a bean explosion. Beans were everywhere. On the walls, the ceiling and my poor Mother. It's kinda funny now, but we were just glad my Mom was Ok. You don't want to know how hard it is to remove bean stains from the walls. So no pressure cooker for me. 3. You can put them in a big pot and boil, nice and safe; for everyone.

To make enough for 1 meal for 2 adults you'll need 1 1/2 cups or about 275 grams of beans. After you clean the beans put in a large pot to start with enough water to cover them above by 2 inches/5 cm. Bring them to a boil then reduce heat and continue to cook until they are tender, have doubled in size and their skin starts to split. You need to check on them often, stir and keep adding water to make sure they don't dry out and burn. Cooking time can take up to 2 hours depending on weight. After they have become tender you can now add 1 teaspoon or more of salt. That's all, now you can use them in many Mexican recipes.

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