Mexican Stewed Beans with Salsa Fresca

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Mexican Stewed Beans with Salsa Fresca

In Mexico City, we learned to prepare traditional stewed beans, as well as a version enriched with pork. Sofrito—a sauté of aromatics cooked separately from the dish’s central ingredient(s)—is a key flavoring for the beans. Our sofrito consists of onion, garlic, tomatoes and jalapeños cooked down to concentrate their essences and is added only after the beans are fully cooked. Instead of the pinto beans so common in Mexican cooking, we opted to use cranberry beans (also called Roman or borlotti beans). We found that the pinto beans available in the U.S. do not cook up with the same plumpness and velvety texture as the ones we tasted in Mexico; cranberry beans were a closer approximation. Though tan in color with speckles of red, dried cranberry beans, when cooked, resemble pinkish beige pinto beans.

If you wish to make this dish with pork, see the recipe below; it yields a meaty broth for cooking the beans and shredded pork for stirring in at the end. A fresh tomato salsa served on the side brightens and lightens the earthiness of the beans.

Servings:

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Diane Unger | Milk Street

Ingredients

Pork and Stock (optional):

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder trimmed and cut into 1½-inch cubes
2 jalapeño chiles stemmed
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Beans:

1 pound dried cranberry beans see headnote, picked over and rinsed
kosher salt
ground black pepper

Sofrito:

2 tablespoons lard or neutral oil
1 medium white onion chopped
2 medium garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro stems finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped, reserved separately
1½ quarts low-sodium chicken broth, pork broth, or water
2 tablespoons lard or neutral oil
1 large white onion chopped
kosher salt
ground black pepper
4 medium garlic cloves minced
2 pounds ripe tomatoes cored and roughly chopped
2 jalapeño chilies stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups shredded pork optional
salsa fresca optional

Instructions

Brine the beans:

To prepare the beans, in a large bowl, combine the beans with 2 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt; stir to dissolve salt. Cover and soak the beans overnight at room temperature.

Make the shredded pork and pork stock (optional):

In a large pot, combine the pork, jalapeños, 1 teaspoon salt and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce to low, cover and cook until a skewer inserted into the pork meets no resistance, 60 to 75 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a medium bowl; set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer set over a large bowl and let cool.
When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding any fat and gristle.
Cover both the broth and shredded meat and refrigerate until ready to use or for up to 3 days.

Cook the beans:

Drain the beans.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering.
Add the onion and 1 teaspoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cilantro stems. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the beans and broth, then bring to a boil over medium-high.
Cover, reduce to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.

While the beans cook, make the sofrito:

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium, heat the lard until shimmering.
Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and jalapeños and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have broken down, the liquid they released has cooked off and the mixture begins to sizzle, 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside.

Finish and serve:

When the beans are done, remove the pot from the heat and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes to allow the liquid to thicken slightly.
Return the beans to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally.
Add the sofrito and shredded pork (if using).
Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, then stir in the cilantro leaves.
Serve with salsa fresca on the side.

Notes

Don’t forget to soak the beans overnight. Soaked beans cook more evenly and quickly than unsoaked ones. A couple of tablespoons of salt in the soaking water produces a creamier, more velvety texture in the cooked beans.
The most efficient way to approach this multi-component recipe is to prep and cook the sofrito during the 1 hour that the beans simmer and make the Salsa Fresca while the cooked beans rest for 30 minutes.
Note that the pork and broth need to be made before you begin cooking the beans, but can be made up to three days in advance.
Nutrition values assume that chicken stock is used and shredded pork is not included.

Nutrition