Puréed Black Beans

Name: Puréed Black Beans (Frijoles Negros Colados)
Yield: About 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: ½ cup lard (preferably home-rendered) or vegetable oil; 4 medium onions, 1 left unpeeled; 1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled; 12 dried avocado leaves; 3 árbol chiles, tops removed; 1 pound (about 2½ cups) black beans, picked over and rinsed to remove stones or grit; 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

Frijoles Negros Colados

Preparation info

About
6
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

This is an exciting variation on the theme of refried beans. The taste immediately brings Oaxaca to my mind—the fragrant, anise-like avocado leaves and the delicate spiciness of the chiles are so characteristic.

Made with oil, this is an excellent vegetarian dish. However, I usually use home-rendered lard for deeper flavor.

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2½ cups) black beans, picked over and rinsed to remove stones or grit
1 whole head

Americas
Mexico
Side dish
Gluten-free
Vegan
Oaxaca

Method

Cook the beans by the basic method for Frijoles Cocidos, adding the garlic and unpeeled onion to the saucepan along with the beans. Start testing for doneness 45 minutes after adding the salt. When the beans are tender, discard the onion and garlic and let the beans cool in the cooking liquid.

When the beans are partly cooled, griddle-roast the chiles