Refried Black Beans
Ingredients
Ingredients for cooking black beans:
1 pound dry Black Beans
1 tablespoon Cold Pressed Olive Oil
½ teaspoon ground Cumin
½ large Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Sea Salt
½ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
Additional ingredients for frying the beans after they’ve been cooked:
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
½ teaspoon Cumin, ground
½ large Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Jalapeno, deveined, seeded and minced (optional)
1 Green Onion, finely sliced
¼ cup Cilantro, diced
¼ cup Crumbled Queso Fresco Cheese
Directions
1. Place dry beans in a bowl and add enough water to cover the beans by two inches
2. Let sit overnight
(Alternatively, if you don’t have time to soak the beans overnight, place the dry beans in a large bowl and pour boiling water over the beans, covering the beans with at least an inch of water, and let sit for one hour)
Note, if your dry beans are a little old, or if you have reason to believe that they will be tough to cook (beans stored in hot or humid climates can get tough), you can add some salt to the water (1½ teaspoons of salt 2 quarts of water) which at this stage will help the beans soften when they cook later.
3. Once the beans have soaked, they should have expanded noticeably
4. Drain the soaking liquid
5. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot on medium high heat
6. Add the cumin to the heated oil
7. Once the cumin is sizzling, add the chopped onion
8. Cook for 5 minutes or so, until translucent
9. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more
10. Add the drained beans and 2 quarts of water
11. Bring to a simmer
12. Partially cover the pot and lower the heat to maintain a simmer
13. Simmer for 2 hours