Refried Beans, the best ever

Making refried beans from scratch is it's own kind of beautiful.

They're buttery, creamy, spiced from dried chiles and full of flavor.

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About this dish

When my husband and I first started our relationship, I wanted to show him all of the flavors of latin cuisine. He's from England and I realized quickly he hadn't had much Mexican/South American food in his life. We had to change that. I wanted to cook him the simple classics that I was raised on and decided to make some authentic refried beans.

Soaking dried beans overnight.

Infusing the beans with dried chile's.

And cooking it with lots of love.

He loved them.

Quickly Mexican cuisine has become his favorite.

This man enjoys a taco. Homemade tortillas, fresh refried beans, roasted salsa.

I enjoy him, enjoying the food - as much as I do eating it.

These refried beans are the perfect base for bowls, tacos, as a hearty side for quesadillas. They're incredibly flavorful.

The process of soaking your beans from dry beans (if you already don't) - is a wonderful routine to start getting into. The benefits of soaking beans before cooking them is long. It's the way cultures across the world amplify beans nutrition and our ability to absorb it.

Servings: 6-12

Ingredients

• 6 cups Black or Pinto Beans, cooked (3 cups dried)

• 1/2 large White Onion, chopped

• 2 large Garlic, chopped

• 5 tbsp Olive Oil

• 1 dried Chile Arbol

• 1-2 dried Chile Guajillo

• 2-3 dried Chile Ancho

• 1.5 tbsp Cumin

• 1 tbsp Salt

• 1 tsp Onion Powder

• 1 tso Garlic Powder

• 1.5 tbsp Oregano, dried

• 2-2.5 cups water for hydrating chiles

Recipe

• Begin by soaking your dried beans (If using canned beans you can skip this step. I recommend this brand of canned beans. Check notes below on why.)

• Soak beans by placing 3 cups dried beans in a large bowl (I recommend a glass) bowl. The bowl should be big enough to house 3x the dried beans volume - as they will swell triple in size.

• Cover the dried beans with 6-7 cups of filtered water, or enough to reach just under the brim of the bowl. Let sit overnight (8-12 hours) changing the water halfway

• When beans are soaked, drain and rinse them

• Into an instant pot, add soaked beans and cover them by 1-2 inches of water

• Set Instant Pot to 10 minutes on high pressure, letting it naturally release (don't accelerate the pressure release, as the beans still need to cook on their cool down)

• While the beans are cooking, let's hydrate the dried chiles

• Into a small stainless steel pot with a lid - add dried chiles and cover with 2-2.5 cups of filtered water

• Bring water to a simmer ad place lid on top

• Let simmer continue for 1 minute, then turn off the heat - keeping the pot in place. It will now steam and hydrate for 10 minutes.

• After the 10 minutes, carefully de-stem the chiles and drop them into a stainless steel blender (if using a plastic blender, allow the chiles to cool some before doing this step) then add in 5 tbsp of the chile water left over in the pot - blend

• You should now have a chile paste. If it's not blending, you can add 1 tbsp of water at a time until it's blendable. You're trying to make a paste

• Into either a wide stainless steel skillet or deep dutch oven pot, heat 5 tbsp olive oil on low

• Then add chopped onion and sauté for 1 minute until translucent

• Then add chopped garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant

• Then add 1 more tbsp of olive oil and add in the chile paste

• Sauté everything for 2 minutes, adding a splash of water if needed to keep the pan from burning

• Then add spices: cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder - and sauté around for 30 seconds

• Then add 6 cups cooked beans and remainder of chile water

• Cover with a lid and let simmer for a few minutes to infuse everything together

• Then immersion blend about 3/4 of the mixture

• This is where you can see if you want to add more water to thin the beans

• If you like the consistency, great. You're done

• If you want thinner beans, add about 1/4 cup of water at a time until. you've reached your desired consistency

• Keep in mind the beans will release some water as they cool and thicken

• Serve warm and enjoy!

• Keeps in the fridge for 4 days

NOTES

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