Frijoles Negros

The plain pot — nothing goes in but onion and epazote, and the salt waits until they are soft.

Vegan. Vegetarian only if you leave out the optional lard.

Ingredients

• 500 g dried black beans
• 1 onion, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• a large sprig of epazote
• 2 litres water
• 2 teaspoons salt, at the end
• 2 tablespoons lard or oil (optional)

Method

1. NOTHING GOES IN BUT ONION AND EPAZOTE, AND THE SALT WAITS UNTIL THEY ARE SOFT. This is the plain pot the other three bean dishes on this site depart from, and the restraint is the point: half an onion, unpeeled garlic, a sprig of epazote, water. No stock, no tomato, no chilli, no bacon. What comes out is beans that taste of beans and a dark, slightly thick broth that is the most useful liquid in a Mexican kitchen -- it goes into refried beans, into enfrijoladas, into soups. And salt only once they are tender, because salt firms the skins and a pot salted at the start can simmer four hours with a quarter of the beans still hard in the middle.
2. THEY ARE NOT SOAKED, AND THAT IS A DELIBERATE CHOICE. Unsoaked black beans take about half an hour longer and give a noticeably darker, thicker broth, because the colour and starch that a soak throws away stay in the pot. Soaking is for speed and this dish is not in a hurry.
3. THE WATER IS NEVER TOPPED UP WITH COLD. Beans that meet cold water part-way through cooking seize, and the skins go tough while the insides are soft -- which produces a pot where every bean has a papery jacket. A kettle kept warm, and boiling water added whenever the level drops below the beans.
4. THE EPAZOTE GOES IN WHOLE AND STAYS IN. One large sprig for the whole hour and a half. It is the only seasoning with any character in the pot and it is what makes these taste Mexican rather than simply like black beans. Chopped, it would overwhelm them.
5. THE BROTH IS THE HALF OF THIS DISH THAT GETS THROWN AWAY BY MISTAKE. Drained for a side dish and the liquid poured down the sink, and then a litre of stock bought for something else the same week. It keeps five days in the fridge and freezes.
6. The beans picked over for stones and RINSED. NOT soaked.
7. Put in a heavy pot with the 2 litres of water, the onion halves and the unpeeled garlic. NO SALT.
8. Brought to the boil, skimmed once, then turned down to a steady simmer.
9. The epazote sprig added WHOLE.
10. Simmered 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES to 2 HOURS, partly covered.
11. Topped up ONLY with BOILING water from a kettle whenever the level drops below the beans. Never cold.
12. TESTED: a bean crushed against the side of the pot should give with no chalkiness at the centre. Several tested, not one.
13. ONLY NOW the 2 teaspoons of salt stirred in.
14. Left 10 MINUTES off the heat to take up the salt, then tasted again.
15. The onion halves and garlic skins fished out. The epazote left in or removed to taste.
16. The lard stirred in if a richer pot is wanted.
17. Served in their broth, or drained for other dishes with the BROTH KEPT. It keeps 5 days and freezes.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes