This recipe has become our go-to dish after trying many different bean recipes. We used black beans for a long time until we began experimenting with other varieties. The bayo, a bean that is native to Mexico, won hands down. They have a nice creamy texture and much more flavor than the typical black beans found in so many Mexican dishes.
Tomatoes are not often found in Mexican bean recipes, but neither is cumin. But both are key to the full, rich flavors this dish offers. The recipe has generated many favorable comments from guests.
Another factor that is said to influence the flavor of your beans is the pot in which you cook them. In the interest of following traditional methods, at Zandoyo we use a handmade clay pot. We cannot say how much of a difference that pot makes but we sure do like the flavor of our beans!
Another use for this recipe is enfrijoladas, Take your refried beans and add some Mexican crema and more chicken stock, depending on the consistency you want. Serve them over corn tortillas filled with whatever you have on hand. We usually use chicken breast, either as tinga (shredded chicken cooked with tomato, onion and chipotle sauce) or mixed with onion, tomato and chile a la mexicana.
Zandoyo beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bayo beans rinsed
- 2 tbsp manteca
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 hoja santa chopped
- 1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
- 1/2 chile serrano chopped
- 1 tomato coarse chopped
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup bean cooking water
Method
- Cover the beans with water and let sit for an hour.
- Drain the beans and transfer to a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil and simmer for an hour and 40 minutes or until tender.
- Drain the beans and save the water.
- Sautee the onion until transparent. Add the garlic and ground cumin seeds and cook for another minute.
- Add the onion mixture to the beans along with the chicken stock and bean water. The liquid should barely cover the beans. Add the tomato and hoja santa and cook for 20 minutes.
Notes
- You will want to add salt when you sautee the onions and again when you mix everything together. Don't skimp!
- Don't throw out the bean water. You will probably want to add more if you go on to make refried beans. And if you are serving the beans whole you might want to adjust the liquid content. No one likes them dry but you don't want other dishes on your plate swimming in bean water.
- We serve the whole beans as a side with many different main items, from scrambled eggs to omelets.
- There is lots of onion in this recipe and it, along with the cumin and hoja santa, really make it special. Many of our Mexican guests have asked us for the recipe. Manteca, or pork fat, is another key ingredient though not essential. But all the ingredients add up to create a special dish.
- To make refried beans add some more chicken stock and bean water to your finished beans and puree with an immersion blender. You could add another tomato at this point. Then cook the mixture for about 15 minutes. Adjust the liquid as necessary to get the consistency you want.
