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Enfrijoladas

Enfrijoladas turn leftover beans and tortillas into breakfast. Learn the silky bean-sauce trick and why frying the puree gives it real body.

35 min Easy Mexicana 3 servings
Enfrijoladas

The story behind

Few dishes capture Mexican home thrift like enfrijoladas, born when a pot of beans and yesterday's tortillas need a second life. They are the everyday breakfast or quick supper across the country, the humble sibling of enchiladas, where pureed beans stand in for the usual chile sauce.

Texture decides everything. Bayo or flor de mayo beans are blended with their own cooking liquid into a silky sauce, neither thick nor watery, meant to coat each tortilla like a velvet cream. The crucial move is frying that puree in hot lard for a few minutes: the heat strips away the raw flavor and concentrates the beans into something with real body, much like a sofrito.

Each tortilla gets a brief dip in hot oil first, just seconds. That quick bath softens it and lightly waterproofs it, so it folds without tearing and won't disintegrate once it soaks up the bean sauce.

Served folded or rolled, they are crowned with fresh cheese, onion, crema and sometimes sesame or epazote. An earthy, comforting aroma drifts up from the plate. Try one with a fried egg set on top; that is the version that turns leftovers into a feast.

Instructions

  1. 1
    Blend the cooked beans along with some of their cooking broth until completely smooth and velvety.
  2. 2
    Heat the lard or oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion chunk until translucent. Pour in the blended beans, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer over low heat until slightly thickened but still pourable.
  3. 3
    In a separate skillet with a tiny drop of oil, flash-heat the tortillas for a few seconds on each side just to make them warm and pliable without crisping.
  4. 4
    Dip each warm tortilla directly into the hot bean sauce, making sure it gets completely coated on both sides.
  5. 5
    Carefully lift the tortilla, fold it into a triangle (in quarters), and place them side-by-side on your serving plate.
  6. 6
    Spoon an extra ladle of the warm bean sauce over the folded tortillas for extra juiciness.
  7. 7
    Generously scatter the crumbled white cheese over the middle of the enfrijoladas.
  8. 8
    Top it all off with the fresh white onion rings, pickled jalapeño slices, and garnish the side with cilantro leaves before serving hot.

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