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'Refried Beans' (''frijoles refritos'') is a dish of cooked and mashed beans and a traditional staple of Mexican cuisine, Latin American cuisine, and the cuisine of the Southwestern United States.

Contents

Ingredients and preparation

Language

References

External links

Ingredients and preparation

Refried beans are prepared with either black or pinto beans. Once the beans have been prepared charola style (i.e. the raw beans are soaked overnight and then stewed) they are drained of most of the remaining liquid, converted into a paste with a bean masher (same as a potato masher, or in its absence, a fork or the back of a large flat spoon) and fried with lard or vegetable oil, typically in a cast iron pot or skillet. Often, onion, garlic, and spices are sautéed in the oil before the beans are added. The cooked beans are then partially or completely mashed and bean or chicken/vegetable stock is added if the consistency is too dry.
They may also be served as a side dish accompanying a larger meal, or rolled in a tortilla to form a bean burrito.
In the US, refried beans have become a very popular dip for corn tortilla chips, while this usage has never really caught on in its native Mexico. Refried beans are also a primary ingredient in many tostadas, chimichangas, and pupusas recipes. In addition, they are a typical ingredient in layered dips, such as seven layer dip, in nachos, and are especially implied when a dish is referred to as nachos grande.
A typical dish, similar to enchiladas is ''enfrijoladas'' wherein slightly fried tortillas are slathered in the bean paste from frijoles refritos.

Language

Refried beans (common in Central and South American cuisines) are not, despite their name, fried twice. So why 'refried'? In ''The Cuisines of Mexico,'' Diana Kennedy asserts that it's due to a mistranslation of their original Spanish name 'frijoles refritos'. The 're-' of 'refritos' is a prefix common in Mexican dialects, applied to give emphasis to words. 'Frijoles refritos' means 'very fried' not 'refried' beans.
The English term "refried", often interpreted as "fried again", is a mistranslation of the Spanish prefix re- as a shortening of the word "refrito", meaning "over". In fact, the beans are fried only once and the term refrito is actually a reference to overfrying the bean paste so that it dries out to retain a shape for serving purposes:

References

External links

★ Ochef publication's article Making Refried Beans