Homemade Re-Fried Beans

I won’t claim that these are authentically Mexican, but they satisfy my craving for Mexican at home. I made them in the crockpot this time, but I’ve also cooked them on the stove many, many times. Here are directions for both.

• 3 c pinto beans, rinsed and picked over
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp olive oil

Stove:

Soak the beans overnight in three times as much water. Alternately, you can bring them to a boil for about five minutes, then turn the heat off and soak them for an hour.

After soaking, drain and rinse the beans and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and add onion and garlic. Reduce heat and boil slowly for an hour or so and add the salt and seasonings, but not the olive oil. Boil slowly for another 30 minutes or so; add more water if necessary.

Crockpot:

Place all ingredients except the olive oil in the crockpot and cook for 1 hour on high, then 4 or more hours on low. When I made the beans this way they didn’t require any soaking.

To make the re-fried beans:

When beans are tender, heat olive oil in a skillet and ladle some of the beans with juice into the skillet. Mash with a potato masher or something similar. (I actually use a pastry blender because I don’t have a potato masher!) Allow to re-heat and adjust seasonings to taste. You’ll probably have to do this in several batches.