Best Smashed Mexican Black Beans Recipes

RESTAURANT-STYLE MEXICAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the oil and let heat briefly.
• Add in onions and saute for 5 to 7 minutes until soft.
• Add in minced garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper and saute another 60 seconds.
• Add in un-drained black beans and juices from can. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot topped with fresh cilantro.

SMASHED BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Cook the onions and jalapenos in the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, salt and garlic, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beans, stock and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.
• Remove the beans from the heat and strain, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans in a small bowl with a potato masher, adding the vinegar and cooking liquid to keep the beans soft. (You will probably not use all the liquid.).

MASHED BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion and cook until golden, stirring often, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.
• Add beans and mash coarsely with a potato masher, mashing in onion and and garlic at the same time.
• Thin beans with enough water to give them a soft consistency that barely holds it shape in a spoon.
• Season with salt.
• Cover and keep warm until serving.

BEST BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Season with cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.

MEXICAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, chili and cumin and sauté 30 seconds. Add beans and broth and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Coarsely mash beans with potato masher. Continue boiling until thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

TOSTADAS WITH SMASHED BLACK BEANS OR VAQUEROS

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pan (I use a heavy nonstick pan for this) and add cumin. When it is sizzling, add beans with their liquid and turn up heat to medium-high. Cook beans, mashing with the back of your spoon and stirring often, until they are thick but still fairly moist, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Every so often a layer of thick broth should begin to stick to the pan. Stir that into the beans - it has a lot of flavor. The smashed beans will continue to dry even after you remove from the heat.
• Toast the tortillas. For really crisp tortillas, heat one at a time (2 if you have a large enough microwave to fit 2 without the tortillas overlapping) in a microwave for 1 minute on full power. Flip tortilla over and microwave for 30 seconds to a minute more on full power, until crisp. You can also toast them in a dry pan or directly over the flame, but this will not crisp the tortillas, it will just char them.
• In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, chiles, onion, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt. Stir in lime juice and the avocado. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes for the best flavor.
• Spread about 1/2 cup of the refried beans over each tortilla. Top with a generous spoonful of salsa. Place a handful of shredded lettuce or cabbage on top and if desired a little more salsa on the lettuce. Sprinkle on some white cheese, and serve.