When Rick Martinez told me that his Chicken Tinga Tostadas (make them!) would have a layer of refried beans, I planted my feet, grabbed Rick by the shoulders, and said “Rick! Old buddy, old pal. You know this is a Basically recipe, right? We have to keep things simple.”
The refried beans, I figured, would involve, like in this classic Rick recipe, a) simmering dried black beans for hours and b) multiple pork products. (Either that or they’d come from a can. And while I personally don’t mind canned refried beans, that didn’t seem like Rick’s style.)
Well this story has a happy ending because Rick proved me wrong (definitely not the first time). His porky refried beans are made with three ingredients—onion, bacon, canned black beans—and take all of 15 minutes to come together.
Here’s how it goes: You slice bacon and add it to a skillet with chopped onion. Set the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally. As the bacon fat renders, the strips will get crispy and the onion will soften and brown. Lower the heat and add the beans and—here’s the kicker—their liquid. Many recipes ask you to drain and rinse canned beans, but in this case, that liquid sort of replicates the starchy cooking broth you’d get if you had boiled the beans from dry. It helps make the final product thick, creamy, and luscious.
Simmer the beans for about five minutes until some of that liquid has boiled off, then get to smashing. A potato masher will do the most thorough job, but a wooden spoon will work in a pinch. Stop when you’ve reached a spreadable consistency that’s still got some texture.
Now that I know how simple it is to make refried beans, no burrito, taco, enchilada, pupusa, or, yes, tostada, will go un-beaned. I will use refried beans as a dip for tortilla chips. For bagel chips, even! Who am I kidding? I’ll probably just eat them with a spoon. And since I don’t eat meat, I’ll use a little olive oil in place of bacon to sauté the onion, and I’ll add some smoked paprika to introduce the smokiness that cured pork would otherwise provide. I know it’s not exactly the same, but it gets the job done—and I think Rick would be proud of my resourcefulness.
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