DDD# 165 – Vegan Mexican Beans, Rice and Green Salsa – Part 1

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2021

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My good friend, Edi Verdugo, joins me for this two-parter to make his family’s recipes. The green salsa will be in part 2. Consider making vegan nachos using the rice, beans & salsa.

Click the link below to watch.

Vegan Mexican Pinto Beans (for the Instant Pot)

INGREDIENTS

3 cups dry pinto beans

9 cups water

1 large onion – ends cut off & peeled but still whole

1-2 TBS garlic salt (to taste)

S & P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Put everything in the instant pot & cook on manual for 45 minutes.

The beans will look watery but they are supposed to be. Season to taste.

Vegan Mexican Rice

INGREDIENTS

1-2 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

1 (7 3/4) ounce can hot tomato sauce

1 TBS bouillon

DIRECTIONS

Toast the rice in the olive oil until it becomes fragrant & looks a bit golden. Do not overcook it.

Add the rest of the ingredients & cook rice according to package directions.

Not Your Mama’s Spicy Vegan Refried Beans

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I had extra pre-soaked pinto beans from my Vegan Pozole recipe.  I was considering throwing them away & then a wave of shame hit me.  Wasting food is such a sin so I looked about my kitchen for inspiration & came up with the idea to make a clean & healthy refried bean recipe.  Refried beans.  The name sounds loaded with calories.  But here is what they say on Wikipedia about the name:

The name is based on a mistranslation: in Mexican Spanish, the prefix re is an informal form of emphasis meaning “very” or “well”, which has been confused with the English re, which more often indicates repetition. Thus, frijoles refritos really means “well-fried beans”, not “refried beans”. In this dish, the beans are often fried, but may also be baked, thus making the term “refried” a misnomer on two counts.

So – do not be afraid of this dish.  It only uses a little olive oil & these beans are so fresh tasting & bursting with flavors – you will never look the same way at those lard-laden, baby food bland refried beans they serve in Mexican chain restaurants.

Look how pretty they are with the green flecks of cilantro & the red of the smoked paprika!  So give these bad boys a try next time you have a Mexican themed meal!

UPDATE – heat these up with a lot of grated cheese & serve it up as a dip!!!

Not Your Mama’s Spicy Vegan Refried Beans

INGREDIENTS

4 cups cooked pinto beans (or 3 15 oz cans)

1-2 cups of stock

3 garlic cloves – chopped

1 jalapeno – seeded & chopped

1/4 cup cilantro

1 small onion – diced

1-3 chipotle peppers in their adobo sauce (I used 3)

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

olive oil

S&P to taste

Extra cilantro, chopped jalapeno & smoked paprika as garnish

DIRECTIONS

Cook your beans.  It is best they soak overnight or that you quick-soak them.

To soak beans overnight, rinse the dried beans and pick out any stones. Place the beans in a large bowl or saucepan and cover with water. Leave overnight.

The quick-soak method is terrific when you don’t have time to let the beans soak overnight. Put the beans in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by three inches. Do not cover. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue simmering for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain.

If you are substituting canned beans for dried, 1 cup of dried beans produces 3 cups of cooked beans. 1 can contains 1/2 cups of drained beans.

When the beans are cooked (or when your caned beans are drained & rinsed) – take a 1/2 cup or so & set aside.  Put the rest of them in the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Adding as much stock as needed, puree the beans.

Add the chipotle and the dry spices & blend.  Add the cilantro & blend.

In a large frying pan – heat about 1 TBS of olive oil & cook the onions & jalapeno until the onions are translucent – or soft.  Add the garlic & saute two more minutes.  Add to the blender or food processor & puree the onions etc into the beans.  Leave the pan on the stove – as you will need it again in a minute.  Add stock as needed to puree the beans.  Do not be afraid you need more water to blend them than seems right.   Once they are completely smooth – put the bean puree in the frying pan and “fry” them in the residual oil until they thicken to the texture you like.  Add the reserved whole beans & stir them in.  Add S&P to taste.

Once the beans have reached the texture you like – serve them up.  I grated a little cheese on mine.  You could go heavier & use a pepper jack or cheddar – or lose the cheese entirely.  Your call.  Garnish with cilantro and/or jalapeno & some more smoked paprika.  Crack open a cold one!  Ole!

Spicy Three Cheese Pinto Bean Dip with Grilled Jalapeno

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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I made this with dry pinto beans mostly because I am somehow more proud of myself when I do – but that is a completely unnecessary hassle.  In fact – I am going to pretend I did not – and post this recipe suggesting canned beans.  It is a surprisingly yummy dip – especially when served with the totally unnecessarily home-fried corn chips.  Store bought chips are perfectly fine.

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Spicy Three Cheese Pinto Bean Dip with Grilled Jalapeno

INGREDIENTS

5 cups canned pinto beans – drained & rinsed

2 jalapenos – roasted, seeded & peeled

1 small onion – diced

1 cup cilantro

1 heaping tsp ground cumin

4 oz goat cheese

12 oz grated mozzarella

2 cups grated cheddar

S&P to taste

GARNISH OPTIONS – roasted tomatillo & jalapeno salsa, more chopped cilantro, diced pickled jalapenos or green chiles, pico de gallo, sour cream, hot sauces, grilled corn.

CHIPS!

DIRECTIONS

Roast the jalapenos on a grill or in a grill pan or under a broiler (watching & rotating them very carefully) until they are blackened.  Place in an airtight container until they cool & then roll the skins off under running water.  Seed them & dice.

Puree about 3/4 of the beans in a blender or food processor with enough water that they blend completely smoothly.  Add the onion, cilantro, grilled jalapeno & the cumin & puree completely.  Transfer the blended beans to a soup pot & add the remaining beans & all the other ingredients.  Heat until all the cheeses melt & everything is heated through.  This might require a bit more water to get the dip to a good consistency.  Taste it and add S&P to taste and maybe add a hot sauce if it isn’t spicy enough.

This is best served in a heated container – like a small, serving crock pot or chafing dish because it tends to set very thickly when it cools.  Or – serve a small quantity of it in a bowl while the remainder sits on very low heat on the stove.  Simply replenish the serving bowl as needed with warmed dip from the stove.  Garnish with something of your choice to make it look pretty.

The grilling of the jalapeno is nice – but not 100% necessary.  You could also do this with dried beans either soaked over night or quick soaked (allowed to sit off heat in boiled water, covered for an hour).  They will still require a few hours of cooking beyond this though before they are soft enough to blend.

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