Lunch · 90 min · mexican

Frijoles de la Olla

Pinto or black beans does the heavy lifting here, with white onion rounding it out. A Mexican lunch that takes 90 minutes, start to finish. Each serving lands at 340 calories with 19g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Pinto or black beans
• 1/2 White onion
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1/4 cup Epazote
• 9 cups Water
• 2 tsp Salt

Steps

1. Rinse the beans and cover with cold water by 3 inches in a heavy clay pot if you have one — la olla matters.
2. Add half the onion, the garlic, and the epazote. Bring to a boil, then drop to the gentlest simmer.
3. Cook 75 to 90 minutes, until the beans are completely creamy inside. Add hot water as needed to keep them submerged.
4. Salt only in the last 15 minutes — early salt can keep old beans tough.
5. Serve in bowls with their brothy liquor, diced raw onion on top.
6. The purest expression of the bean. Everything else is a variation.

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