A Home-Reared Chef: Cook by Instinct, Recipe #3
I am a home-reared chef, as was my mother before me. Home’s kitchen is where we received our cooking lessons, for there was never any thought or planned agenda to attend a Culinary Institute or Cordon Blue Academy, no, not for us.
For my mother Olga—born in the early 1930s—growing-up as a child in San Salvador, El Salvador, and learning to cook at an early age, as I did, was just one of life’s everyday lessons. It was expected, even if she was the step-daughter of a rich politician, with servants and chauffer and cooks at their beck-and-call.
Some of Olga’s earliest and best memories were times spent in the kitchen, where ready-food could always be found. Reaching high on little tiptoes, she’d snatch from the counter or table a bite or nibbles of foods in the making, sampling the day’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And one of her absolute favorite meals was sandwiches of simple scrambled-eggs and/or refried beans, frijoles colochos (beans fried to a thick, dry-paste consistency) on large rolls. To school she would almost ritually take these large sandwiches to have as meals: one during her morning recess and one for her lunch, becoming the envy of all the other children. Without a doubt, they drooled and salivated as they watched Little Olguita enjoying a hefty sandwich.
Of course, beans were not something you served to your sophisticated and distinguished guests, oh-no! Beans were for any day but guest-day. However, the cooks always had a pot of beans cooking on the stove, an everyday staple in every Central American home, and certainly including the home of a well-known and very well-to-do politician.
Here in the United States our mother continued with tradition, often making these frijoles colochos for her family, and sometimes making a union of rice and beans, known as casamiento, a wedding. Though considered simple peasant’s food, comida de los Indio’s, this was one of our favorite dishes growing up, and a very inexpensive dish to cook at that, most fitting for a family on a budget; eaten with warmed tortillas or French bread, and even better with home-made Milk Bread. Yum!
I, too, have many times made these beans for my family. Though we don’t do the beans in this fashion too often; the calories can run rather high because of the amount of oil/butter/lard it needs to achieve the texture. Nevertheless, these beans are so-worth the time it takes to make and the occasional sacrifice for total indulgence. This is a very old and very traditional recipe. Please note that the amount of oil used is not precise – the right consistency is achieved by much practice and, of course, personal taste. And you can always choose not to add extra fat from the original suggested amount.
Note: Canned refried beans can also be used for this recipe, and it will take significantly less time to cook.
Frijoles Colochos (Refried Beans)
- 1 pound (dry) beans (pintos or red preferred)
Clean beans of rocks and rinse the night before. Place beans with plenty of cold water in a covered pot and leave on the counter overnight.
Soaked Beans (Day of cooking)
1. Drain beans of water
2. Add just enough fresh, cold water to cover beans completely
3. Bring to a boil and add salt to taste
4. Stir well, return lid to pot and lower heat to simmer and cook for about 1½ to 2 hours. Bean is done when it can easily be pierced with a fork. Cook longer if needed.
Cooked Beans
Mash the beans well with a potato masher (a more rustic appearance is achieved with this method), or in a blender, if you prefer, for a smoother consistency. Set aside.
Frying the Beans
1. In a deep skillet, on a medium heat, melt/heat LARD (or oil of choice), about 1/4 to 1/3 cup to start with.
