It began Saturday afternoon when I soaked the pintos. I intended to make the refried beans and do tostadas Sunday but got sidetracked and made this DELICIOUS Hungarian Mushroom Soup instead. I wanted to get those mushes out of the fridge and into the pot.
Back to the refritos: Yesterday I came home from work to change before going for a massage. I put the beans on to simmer while I was gone. (leaving Taylor with instructions to turn them off then the timer went off)When I got home the beans were cooked to a fairly good tender stage. If I'd been here I would have given them a little time, but I felt they were done enough to avoid any gastronomic upset. I sauteed onion, garlic, a little red bell pepper, cumin and salt in a big frying pan and then dropped in the beans. I then mashed the whole shooting match with my potato masher.
And here's the really decadent part: I fried fresh corn tortillas. I remember when we were kids Mom used to do that. At that time pre-fried or baked and shaped taco shells weren't on the market yet. Oh man! Nothing does it like freshly-fried tortillas.
And so I fried, and the three of us built, and we had a fantastic meal.
The refrito recipes is from the New Moosewood Cookbook, of course. I really enjoy Mollie Katzen's tips on how to eat a tostada:
"Take a crisp tortilla and place it on your place. add a spoonful of refritos, and spread them imaginatively in place. sprinkle on some grated cheese, followed by an elaborate mound of assorted accessories, the height of which considers the dimensions of your mouth. Ladle on a little sauce, or spoon on some salsa. Now you are ready to make a noble attempt to eat it daintily. Keep your plate under your chin to catch what falls or drips."
Given my guys and their addiction to all things sandwiche, they just used two tortillas and made sandwich tostadas. And then we ate them with forks for the most part.
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