This post is the first in a series of 'how to' posts. I've been observing a few of our customers in the shop and getting e-mails asking how to use some of the most basic Mexican ingredients. I guess I take it for granted some of the knowledge that becomes natural over the years by just eating, cooking or watching others handle Mexican ingredients and I now need to take a step back and answer things like...
How do I use corn tortillas?
Do I heat them or can I eat them cold?
How do I work with dried chilies? Do I cook them, soak them, boil them, toast them?
How do I use courgette flowers?
A common one revolves around beans. Beans are delicious, nutritious low in fat and quite filling. Black beans, or turtle beans as they are also known, are part of our staple diet in my part of Mexico. They are full of iron and really easy to cook. I often find people buying the cans of beans we sell in the shop considering to buy the raw ones, but after some pause, choosing to buy the tinned ones instead. Don't take me wrong, the tinned ones are lovely and very handy, but I often wonder why people prefer them to the real deal, to the ones you make from scratch. Are they put off by their look, the overnight soaking, the cooking and the storing of a whole kilo of cooked beans? I must admit that the general lack of enthusiasm for this wholesome raw ingredient baffles me.
So today, I want to share with you how to make whole black beans from scratch. Once they're made, they are very versatile: you can eat them whole, as a soup (as I have done here) or you can make them into black refried beans or into a sauce for enfrijoladas (bean flavoured enchiladas). Whatever you chose to do with your beans, this post is meant to demystify the handling of this lovely pulse and to encourage you to cook them from scratch. Don't be put off by having to cook a whole kilo of these beans, they freeze extremely well, so cook the kilo and divide it in 4-6 portions and freeze them whole. Whenever you're making refried beans or your favourite bean soup, take them out and defrost them overnight or in the microwave.
Note: most Mexicans use pressure cookers to prepare beans; there's no pre-soaking and they cook fast. You can also cook them in the slow cooker or in a pot on the stove top (but you'll be best pre-soaking them with these two methods)!
Dried epazote is also known as Mexican Tea, it's a herb widely used in Mexican cooking and it is said to help with the windy problems usually associated with eating beans! You can buy it with us (always the soft sale!).
Empty the bag of beans into a tray and check for little stones or debri. Once Cleaned, put them into a colander and rinse them well under the tap with cold water and drain.
Pour the beans into your pressure cooker and fill the pressure cooker 3/4 full with water. It's important that your beans are completely covered in water and that you have a fair bit of water above them. I use about 3 litres, but this of course depends on how big your pressure cooker or pot is; if you don't have one, you will require to soak the beans overnight in water before you start and you will need to simmer them for at least 3 hours.
Add the onion, garlic, epazote and salt; put the lid on making sure you set the pressure and use the set up for pulses or legumes in your pressure cooker or slow cooker. In mine I cook them for 45 minutes in the pressure cooker. If you are using a regular pot, cover it but keep an eye on it to make sure it won't boil over and spill the beans (quite literally) all over the stove.
After the cooking process is done, check the beans to see if they are cooked. If they are still a little hard, top the water up, but the lid back on and return them to the pressure cooker/pot stove for a further 10 minutes.
Your beans are done! Once they are cold, you can divide them into portions and freeze them in their juice. I eat some of mine as soon as they were ready as a soup. I served them in a bowl with plenty of their cooking juices, sprinkled with some fresh chopped coriander and half of a crushed chipotle chili in adobo to add a bit of a smoky flavour to the bean soup. My grandma used to say that one should have a bowl of freshly made black beans once a month to restore our iron supply in the body... I must say, never did I encountered sounder and tastier advise!
How To: Black Beans from Scratch...
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Black beans are one of the most popular varieties of beans in Mexico. They're medium size, with shiny, black skin and a tiny white dot where they ...
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Pinto beans are very tasty and good for you. They literary mean 'speckled' or 'spotted' bean. They are or a creamy colour with speckles of dark re...
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Black beans are one of the most popular varieties of beans in Mexico. They're medium size, with shiny, black skin and a tiny white dot where they ...
View full details
Pinto beans are very tasty and good for you. They literary mean 'speckled' or 'spotted' bean. They are or a creamy colour with speckles of dark re...
View full details
Epazote, also known as 'Mexican tea' or 'wormseed', is a leafy Mexican herb extensively used both fresh and dried in Mexican cuisine. It has a high...
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Chipotle Chilies (pronounced chee-po-tle) are jalapeño peppers that have been dried and smoked. They are quite hot, smokey in flavour and quite mea...
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Chipotle Chilies (pronouced chee-po-tle) are jalapeño peppers that have been dried and smoked. They are quite hot, smokey in flavour and quite meat...
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