Tag: side dish
Mexican Style Black Beans (Instant Pot)
Mexican Style Black Beans (Instant Pot)
This is a traditional recipe for Mexican style black beans using an Instant Pot. Buy using the Instant Pot, it cuts down the cooking time from 2 hours to 35 minutes. Other than the amazing pressure cooker function the Instant Pot performs, it has a sauté function that works better than my stove top. Onion and garlic get sautéed for 2 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients, set for 30 minutes on the pressure cooker function, then done. Can’t get any easier.If you want to make these beans vegan, substitute oil for lard.One pot side dish by one pothead.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp lard
- 1/4 medium onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups water
- 8 oz dried black beans
- 3 epazote leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to the sauté function on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of lard. Once melted and hot, sauté the onions and garlic for 2 minutes; just enough to get a little color out of them.
- Add in the water, black beans, and epazote leaves. Turn your Instant Pot to the pressure cooker setting on high for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes is up, release the pressure. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy your beans as a side dish to any Mexican meal; breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Refried Beans
Refried Beans
This is a very simple recipe to make homemade refried beans instead of buying the canned variety. Once you get this recipe down, it will be like night and day compared to eating store bought.I made my pinto beans in my Instant Pot. I kid you not, it took 25 minutes in total to boil unsealed beans. No more soaking of 8 hours and boiling for another hour for me. This has become a real game changer for me and beans. You can make the refried beans vegetarian if you’d like by using oil instead of lard. I happened to have a container of render pork fat from a whole pork belly that I made, so that was my fat of choice. There are many things you can add the the beans. You can add a little bit of cooked chorizo to your beans if you want them to have that flavor. Diced jalapeño would be great in your beans if you want a little spice. Refried beans are even better when topped off with some queso fresco cheese.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
- 1/4 cup white onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp lard/vegetable oil/canola oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt to taste
- pinto bean broth
Instructions
- If using an Instant Pot, add a whole bag of dried pinto beans to 4-5 cups of water. Set to Pressure Cook on high for 25 minutes. If doing this on a stove top, soak your beans over night or for at least 8 hours. Fill a stock pot up with water and boil your beans for an hour or until tender.
- Drain your beans. Save a cup or two of the bean stock water.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, sauté the onions in the lipid of your choosing. I happened to have some rendered pork fat from a whole pork belly I saved. Cook until browned.
- Add in 2 1/2 cups of the cooked pinto beans. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Using either a bean masher or the bottom of something flat like a ramekin, start mashing the beans while slowly incorporating the bean stock water. Continue this process until all of the beans are smashed and run smooth and are creamy.
- Stir in smoked paprika. Salt to your liking.
Caribbean Rice and Beans
Caribbean Rice and Beans
This is a very simple and delicious side dish that goes great with any Caribbean cuisine. These rice and beans are highly flavorful, with the combination over garlic and onions, coconut milk and a habanero. You can use any type of bean in this recipe. You really can’t go wrong any way. I used a Dominican red bean. For the rice, you want to use a long grain rice. I used basmati. If you want the flavor of the habanero but don’t want to burn your face off, make sure to leave it whole. This really goes for using hot peppers in any cuisine.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 6 cloves minced garlic cloves
- 2 tsp creole spice
- 2 cups uncooked basmati rice washed and rinsed 3 times
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 lb cooked red beans
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 habanero
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Heat oil on medium high heat in a pot. Sauté onions, garlic, thyme, and habanero for 2 minutes.
- Add the basmati rice. Stir. Add the beans, bay leaf, creole seasoning, and paprika. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and chicken stock. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Discard bay leaves and habanero. Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
