The pot of beans that anchors a Mexican kitchen — from dried, with epazote's wild resinous leaf doing what only it can.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
6
Before you start
Mise en place
Equipment
Sheet pan
Chef's knife
Prep checklist
Black Beans — dried, unsoaked is fine
Epazote — or 1 tsp dried
Onion — halved
Lard — or oil
Kosher Salt — added LATE
3 steps
Method
1
Cover the beans with 8 cm of water; add onion, garlic, bay, and lard. Simmer, partly covered, topping up as needed, until fully creamy inside — 75–100 minutes.
88 min — timer available in cooking mode
2
Epazote and salt for the FINAL 20 minutes.
20 min — timer available in cooking mode
Why this works
Epazote is unmistakable — camphor-citrus-wild — and traditional for a reason. Add it early and it fades; late, it sings.
3
Season, and ladle with plenty of the pot liquor (the best part). Tomorrow: refried in that same lard.
From the pass
Chef's notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Freezing
Depends on the vegetable — roasted things reheat better than they freeze.
Reheating
Roasted vegetables re-crisp in a 200°C oven for 6–8 minutes; mashes loosen with a splash of warm milk over low heat.
Make ahead
Blanch or par-roast ahead, then finish with high heat just before serving.