Frijoles de la Olla

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus optional overnight soak)

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Country of Origin

Mexico

Description

The bedrock of traditional Mexican home cooking. Dried pinto beans are slowly simmered in an earthenware pot (olla de barro) with onion, garlic, and epazote until tender, creamy, and surrounded by a rich, savory broth.

Presentation & How It's Eaten

Served piping hot in small clay or ceramic bowls with a ladle of their cooking broth, sprinkled with fresh queso fresco and chopped cilantro. Eaten with a spoon or scooped with warm corn tortillas.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450g) dried pinto beans, picked through and rinsed

• 8 cups water

• 1/2 large white onion, left in one piece

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 fresh sprig epazote (or 1 tbsp dried epazote; optional)

• 2 tbsp lard or vegetable oil

• 1.5 tsp salt (added near end of cooking)

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Combine Base Ingredients: In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine rinsed pinto beans, water, onion chunk, garlic cloves, epazote, and lard.

2. Bring to Boil: Place over medium-high heat and bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.

3. Slow Simmer: Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and gently simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until beans are soft and creamy throughout. Add hot water if broth level drops below beans.

4. Season: Add salt during last 15 minutes of cooking (salting too early can toughen skins).

5. Serve: Discard cooked onion chunk and epazote sprig before ladling beans and broth into bowls.

Optional

• Herbal Notes: Epazote provides an authentic herbal aroma and aids digestion, but flat-leaf parsley or cilantro sprigs make fine substitutes.

Cooking Tips

• Never Add Cold Water: If broth boils down during cooking, replenish with hot/boiling water to avoid shocking beans, which causes uneven cooking.

Nutrition Facts

(Estimated per serving, based on an 8-serving breakdown)

Calories: ~190 kcal

Total Fat: 4g

Saturated Fat: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 5mg

Sodium: 440mg

Total Carbohydrates: 28g

Dietary Fiber: 9g

Sugars: 1g

Protein: 10g