Background

• Beans are commonplace across Latin American and Caribbean cuisine with the most common being black turtle and pinto
• Beans cooked from dried are less expensive and tastier. They require a bit more advance prep but not much more work, and the pressure cooker can eliminate most of the need for soaking.
• For refried beans, take the beans from the regular recipe and mash or blend into a paste before frying in a pan with more oil (lots more oil for the flavorful, heavy version)

Ingredients

• 1 pound of beans (2 cups)
• ½ onion cut into any size pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and left whole)
• 1 teaspoon mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon chile powder (for Mexican style and a bit spicier)
• 2 bay leaves and/or avocado leaves
• 1 fresh epazote leaf or ½ teaspoon dried powder
• 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Soak the beans with ½ teaspoon baking soda covered in water for a few hours or overnight (skipping this step is okay because the beans will be pressure cooked)

2. Saute the onions and garlic in oil for a couple minutes until somewhat browned

3. Add the spices and mix, toast for 30 seconds

4. Drain the beans and add in to the pot along with 3 cups of fresh water

5. Pressure cook for 40 minutes to an hour on high (depending on how soft you want the beans

6. Add salt to taste after the beans are done cooking

7. Remove garlic pieces or crush against the side of the pot and mix in

8. For refried beans:

9. Cook the beans a bit longer (up to 90 minutes)

10. Blend the beans into a mash in a blender

11. Heat oil (coconut to replicate lard, olive for flavor, or avocado for neutral) on a skillet and add the bean mash

12. Mix and cook until the beans darken in color and firm up