Vegetarian Beans with Chile Tezcucana-style

One of my favorite movies of all time is Like Water for Chocolate

. Not only is the story mesmerizing, but the dishes created by Tita amazing. However, the predominance of lard and pork in Mexican cooking can create some challenges for vegetarians. I decided to take a stab at a vegetarian version of one of my favorite meals in the book – simple, yet elegant - Beans with Chile Tezcucana-style.

I made several modifications to simplify the recipe along the way, so here goes…
1 pound dried black beans
1 package Smart Bacon (bacon style strips), chopped into 1 inch strips (it’s ok if the pieces are stuck together as they will eventually dissolve into the beans)
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbs epazote (or more if you like)
5-7 chiles Serrano (or 3-4 chiles de Arbol soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes)
1 cup chopped onion
5-6 large cloves garlic, peeled (will be use whole)
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cinnamon
6-8 springs of fresh cilantro
Pinch of ground cloves (optional)
8-12 cups vegetable broth
Salt to taste (careful due to salt in broth and bacon)
Crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco for garnish

Soak the dried beans in two cups of water while preparing the other ingredients. Chop the onion fine and slice the chiles Serrano lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds, chop fine (I use rubber gloves while handling the chiles)

In a 4qt saucepan, heat the olive oil until a piece of the onion sizzles on impact. Add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add the chiles and the whole garlic cloves. Sauté for an additional 5-6 minutes and then add the bacon pieces, spices and cilantro. Sauté 2-3 more minutes then add the vegetable broth and the beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer very gently for one hour until the beans are tender. If the garlic cloves do not dissolve, you can remove them, same for the sprigs of cilantro.

I served the beans with rice cooked in vegetable broth and seasoned with cilantro and butter. The traditional recipe calls for rice and fried sweet plantains but they were not available, so I used fried green plantains instead. The market had no ripe avocados, but the dish was fine without them: next time!

Don’t forget to put the onion on your head and thank Esperanza for salvaging the cookbook from the smoldering embers of the ranch.