Simple Beans from the Pot

Frijoles de Olla

Makes 5 generous cups cooked beans and 2 cups cooking liquid Preparation Time: 3 minutes Cooking Time: About 1½ hours Can be made up to 4 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated

Home-cooked beans are helpful, well-behaved, adaptable, and easy to make. Yes, they take some time to cook, but they need only as much babysitting as a ten-year-old—you just need to sneak a peek every now and then. Whether in Mexico or not, you will always find a pot of beans cooking in any Mexican home, filling the kitchen with a warm, earthy aroma and comforting steaminess, an ambiance I hanker for when I am hungry or homesick.

With a side of warm corn tortillas and pickled chiles or salsa, you really don’t need anything else. Of course, if you have some ripe avocado and fresh crumbled cheese too, you will have a feast.

• 1 pound (about 2½ cups) dried black or pinto beans
• ½ large white onion
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt, or to taste
• 2 cilantro sprigs or 3–4 fresh epazote leaves (optional; see the sidebar)

1. Rinse the beans in cold water, pick them over, and drain. Place them in a large pot or casserole and cover with at least 3 inches of water. Add the onion and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a happy simmer, partially covered, until the beans are cooked through and soft, 1¼ to 1½ hours, depending on their age.
2. Add the salt and cilantro, if using, and cook for 15 minutes more, or until the beans are so soft that they come apart if you hold one between your fingers, and the broth has thickened to a soupy consistency. If the beans are not quite there and the broth is drying out, add more water.
3. Remove the onion and herbs with a slotted spoon before serving the beans.

MEXICAN COOK’S TRICK: Make a delicious bean puree by combining 5 cups cooked beans with 1 cup of their liquid (or 5 cups rinsed canned beans plus a cup of water or chicken broth) and salt to taste in a blender or food processor and pureeing until entirely smooth. Use in Hearty Pinto Bean Soup or for Scrambled Egg Packets.

Cooking Beans There are many myths about cooking dried beans. Let’s take soaking. Soaking beans reduces the cooking time by about one quarter, but beans don’t need to be soaked overnight—or even at all. And if you soak them too long (more than 12 hours), they may begin to ferment.

To cook beans, rinse them in a colander and sort through them to remove any broken beans or pebbles. Put them in a pot, cover them generously with water, and add ½ white onion (just slice the onion in half and peel away the outer layer, but leave the root end intact to ease scooping out later). If you love the flavor of garlic, drop in a couple of cloves.

Whatever you do, don’t add salt at the beginning of cooking, because it can toughen the beans. Add the salt once the beans are already cooked and soft, at least an hour into the cooking. This is also when I add flavor-enhancing herbs like cilantro or epazote.

If the beans aren’t fully cooked and the pot is running out of water, add hot water, not cold, as cold will slow the cooking and toughen the beans.

Canned beans can be used interchangeably with home-cooked beans in a pinch. If you use canned, drain and rinse the beans well before using. That said, homemade beans are a thousand times tastier.