To kick off our fourth year of cooking classes with the mini-chefs, we made a family recipe given to me by my mom.  Chalupas are sort of like soft tacos, but are made with corn tortillas that have been buttered and barely fried.  Inside, my mom puts Spanish rice, cheese, and of course refritos, or “refried beans” in English.  Even when my daughter was on her worst leg of not eating anything in her 2’s and 3’s, her Nonna could make her these chalupas or even just the rice and beans that go inside, and she would be snarfing it down happily.

In my mother, Charlotte’s, family, she has three siblings, one sister and two brothers.  They all grew up in rural New Mexico, land of rice and beans and of course amazing green (and red) chile.  Two of her siblings have owned Mexican restaurants, and the other one worked and cooked for many years in his brother’s restaurant, bringing the flavors of their home state to the table.

As a child, when we would eat at my Aunt Holly’s restaurant, my absolute favorite item on the menu was the refritos.  They were smooth and silky in my mouth, and I would often push the rice aside and just eat beans, beans, and beans and nothing else.  It must be genetic.  My mom says she starts feeling a little “off” if she hasn’t had her pinto beans each week, and her granddaughter is crazy about beans-any kind you serve her.

In my Aunt Holly’s restaurant, and really traditionally, refritos were made with lard, pork fat left over from frying your bacon, etc.  They taste amazing, of course, but my mom likes things a little lighter and more healthful as long as they still taste good.  The recipe she handed me is very much like the recipe you would find anyone in Mexico or New Mexico making, minus the lard.  She changed that to vegetable oil, and the result is different, but for eating on a weekly basis, even better.

To add in even more nutrition, I added some shredded vegetables into the beans.  We never, ever “hide” the vegetables that we have in our recipes from the mini-chefs.  They know exactly what is in every bite so that they can go home and make it taste more or less like what they have in cooking class.  They also learn that, even though we may not like certain things on their own, when they are cooked into a recipe, we do like them, maybe even love them.  That becomes part of the magic of cooking.

And, let me tell you, these kids were woofing!  So, here is the first step in putting together a platter of chalupas, making the refritos.  So simple, so inexpensive.  Double the recipe, put some of the leftover beans in your freezer, and you will have them for next week when you are suddenly having a bean craving.

Note: our recipe gives two methods of cooking the dried beans: one you make in a slow-cooker, which we find very easy and consistently produces well cooked, soft beans and a second method that only requires a large heavy pot and more vigilance if you do not have a slow-cooker available.

Healthy Refried Beans

To cook the dry beans:

• 4 cups dried pinto beans
• 2 t. salt
• a bay leaf

1. With your mini-chef, sort through the beans, removing all the pebbles or funky things so that you just have beans.
2. Soak the beans 6-8 hours in a large bowl in which they are covered with an inch of water above the bean line.
3. Drain off the soaking water.
4. If you are using a slow-cooker, you will put the beans in and again fill the slow cooker with water so that they cover the beans by about an inch, and stir in the bay leaf and salt.  All of this you can do with your Yummy’s help.  On the “low” setting, set the beans to cook for 8 hours.  If, instead you are using a pot, place the beans, water (again, covering by 1 inch), salt, and bay leaf into the pot and bring everything to a boil.  Cover and cook 2 hours, simmering, till the beans are very soft and tender.  Check the beans about an hour into the cooking to make sure that they don’t need a bit more water.  If so, add another cup or so of water and a pinch more salt.
5. When the beans are done, make sure you reserve the liquid in which they were cooked.  This is especially important if you plan on freezing them at this point.  Discard the bay leaf.

To refry the beans:

• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped or shredded in a food processor
• 8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 T. cumin
• optional but recommended: 1 1/2 c. total of shredded carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, or parsnips
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook for several minutes, stirring, till the onion is just beginning to turn golden.
3. Stir in the cumin.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute or so, stirring the entire time.
5. Add about half of the beans, stir them in, and begin mashing them with the back of a ladle or a potato masher.  The right texture is definitely a matter of taste.  We like ours smooth but with a few whole beans here and there, but some Yummies will like them very much like a puree with no whole beans in sight.
6. Add the other half of the beans and mash those to your desired texture.  Stirring and mashing all the while.  If they are getting dry or crusty, stir in a little more bean cooking liquid or water to soften them up.  Once they are the right consistency, season with salt and pepper, to taste.