Well, I underestimated how much time and effort would be needed to complete my BIG SURPRISE PROJECT (kids, anyone?), and it’s not quite ready yet. Sigh. Soon, I promise!
In the meantime, how’d you like some refried beans?
Sure, you can go to the store and buy a can (even though those are usually disgusting), and there are tons of tutorials online for how to make excellent refried beans. I could even give you an excellent recipe that I’ve used for ages that starts with simple, dried pinto beans.
One problem: if you deal with Fructose Malabsorption, pinto beans can be…problematic.
Sad as it is for us to accept, Jed can’t tolerate pinto beans. (Of course not! They’re only $1 per pound!) So we’ve been living “refried bean-less” for many months.
Until last week, when I saw a can of Fava beans in my pantry and thought “Why not?” It made a decent hummus…why couldn’t it make a decent refried bean?
So I tried it. And it worked. Kind of.
Darrel says they were good, but they don’t taste like traditional refried beans. He went back for more, though, which I always take as a good sign!
Jed has a case of the Tremendously Terrible Three’s and has been refusing to eat ANYTHING I offer him lately. So, he might actually like this one day. If I can get him to eat it. (Very ready for this phase to be over with!)
If you can eat pinto beans, by all means, make the original. I miss pinto beans. They’re wonderful.
But if fructose or pinto beans in general are a problem for you, give this a shot: it will work perfectly on a tostada, taco, or other delicious dish!
One word about the spices: feel free to double them. Seriously. Darrel and Jed are notoriously sensitive to spicy foods, so I always try to keep the spices on the lower side in my cooking. I wouldn’t be surprised if this NEEDED to be doubled to be considered delicious by most people, but since I didn’t make it that way, I don’t want to accidentally burn your taste buds off by recommending it from the start.
Try it with the amounts I’ve listed, let it cook for a bit, and then taste it to see if you need to kick it up a notch. Leave me a note if you find the seasoning needs a bit of tweaking, please! Thanks, and enjoy!
- 1 can Fava Beans
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. black pepper
- 2 c. water
- Rinse and drain the beans.
- Add the beans and water to a saucepan.
- Add the seasonings, and simmer for half an hour.
- Get out an immersion blender or potato masher and mash those beans up as much as you like.
- Enjoy your non-pinto refried beans!
Have you made refried beans out of a non-traditional bean before? How did that work out for you?
You can try fava bean dip the Maltese way. The people of the Island of Malta make Bigilla. You can try the recipe from here http://eatinmykitchen.meikepeters.com/fava-beans-bigilla-and-the-silent-city-of-mdina/
Thanks, Francesca! That looks delicious. I wonder if it will be as good without any onion added? We can’t eat onion. It’s worth a try, right? 🙂