Foodie Fridays: Spicy Pinto Beans and Chipotle Chili Puree

I love Mexican food. I could probably eat a burrito everyday for the rest of my life and die happy. As long as I got to change it up a bit every now and then anyway. I’ve experimented with many bean fillings for vegetarian tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, and this is my favorite. Enjoy it with some pico de gallo and I’m sure you’ll be in heaven too.

The spice in this recipe is optional. If you have kids or just aren’t too interested in spicy food, omit the peppers and you’ll find that this is still very tasty. As you’ll see in the pictures, I had two pans going when I last made this. If you don’t use this all up it will last in your fridge for about a week.

Spicy Pinto Beans

3 cups cooked pinto beans

oil for cooking

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 – 1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, chopped finely

1 tsp chipotle chili purée* (instructions below)

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 cup cilantro

up to 1/2 cup water

salt, to taste

Directions:

Fry onions, garlic and peppers and sauté for five minutes.

Add spices, beans, and cilantro. Separate into two pans, if needed. (As you can see I picked out the jalapeño peppers for the kid’s pan and omitted the chipotle pepper purée as well. The other spices give the dish flavour rather than heat).

Add as much or as little water as you would like and mash, if desired, for a refried bean kind of filling. Cook, taste and add more of this or that until satisfied.

Use as a filling the way you would ground beef, top with optional cheese, tomato, lettuce, avocado or guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, cilantro, etc. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

How To Make Chipotle Chili Puree

1 x 7 oz can chipotle chiles in red adobo sauce

Directions:

Purée contents of can. Transfer to a clear glass jar and refrigerate.

Yields: 1/2 cup

Small cans of chipotle chili peppers can be found in most grocery stores in the Mexican foods section. Once opened this will last in your fridge for at least a month.

Once you’ve discovered the smoky flavour of a chipotle pepper and make this purée, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it, as it can be added to so many dishes!

• scrambled eggs
• softened butter for corn on the cob
• stirred into cornbread batter
• tomato sauce for pizza and pasta
• mayonnaise, for sandwiches
• hummous
• stirred into squash, bean, or corn soups

credit: Re Bar Modern Food Cookbook

How do you like your beans?

This post is taking part in Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Friday Food at Momtrends, Friday Foodie Fix at The WHOLE Gang and Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Tags: beans, chipotle chili puree, Foodie Fridays, recipe, vegan