Mexican-inspired refried beans with pickled onions
Creator notes
Why I love this: I love refried beans, and though I typically see them made with pinto beans, cranberry beans act as an excellent substitute. Cranberry beans are slightly milder in flavor but still yield a delicious result. I took inspiration from Mexican Made Meatless’ version but added a few additional, completely optional flavorings. For a non-vegetarian version, you can use lard.
–Karishma Pradhan, founder, Home Cooking Collective
As seen in 1 pot of beans, 5 tasty meals.
What you’ll need
- Limes
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Oil or lard
- Yellow onion, diced
- Garlic, minced (optional)
- Whole dried red árbol chiles
- Ground coriander (optional)
- Ground cumin (optional)
- Cooked beans (and broth)
- Salt
- Fresh cilantro, minced
Preparation
Pickle the onions: In a small bowl, add enough lime juice to submerge the red onion. Set aside while you prepare the re-fried beans.
Make the refried beans: Heat oil (or lard) in a sauté pan, and sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add chilies and spices (if using), then stir in beans, and some bean broth. Simmer the beans, and mash into a creamy puree until it reaches your desired consistency. You can puree in the blender too, for a super-smooth sauce (just make sure to remove the whole chile). Add more broth as needed and season with salt.
Remove from the heat, then top with pickled onions and cilantro.
I could imagine this with...
Soft or crispy tortillas, tortilla chips, and/or hot sauce
