Enfrijoladas

I personally am not a huge fan of earthy flavors, like mushrooms and beans and the like, but after 8 months, I'm starting to feel like I can't describe my blog as a Mexican food blog if I don't start talking about frijoles.

Beans are an important part of Mexican cuisine, but for the non-wealthy, they're downright vital. (Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, right?) When I lived in Martinez de la Torre, beans were always at the ready on the stove for a breakfast, lunch or dinner option, but they weren't the Goya cans so predominant and convenient stateside. Instead, every other morning, my suegra would fill a pot with water and at least 2 kgs of frijoles and cook them outside over a wood burning stove for several hours.

Now, down here, rice and beans are popular enough in authentic Mexican cuisine, but their inclusion with every meal at chains like On The Border and Chi-Chi's (which means boobies, by the way) is not quite reflective of my frijol experiences. The most common use of beans that I see is enfrijoladas, and, similar to the previous mentioned enchiladas and enmoladas, enfrijoladas, a true staple of Mexican cuisine, are lightly fried tortillas slathered with refried beans and possibly topped with some garnish or accompanied by an egg.

Ingredients
20 corn tortillas
1 can of pinto or black beans (or refried beans)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
oil for frying

Directions

1 - Open a can of beans, but do NOT drain them. Heat some oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the beans along with their bean juice. Fry the beans until soft, and then squish with the back of a wooden spoon or a masher. (Or, puree the can of beans in a blender beofore sauteing.) Add salt and pepper to taste, and set the hot beans aside.

2 - In another pan, heat some more oil over a low flame. Lightly fry the tortillas, about 30 seconds on each side.

3 - Immediately dip the tortillas in the warm beans, and remove to a plate. Fold it over on itself (like a quesadilla).

4 - Once all the tortillas are done and the plates are full, sprinkle the enfrijoladas with the cheese and raw onions.

5 - They are generally eaten with your fingers (which is fun, but not terribly dignified) and at any time of the day.