Frijoles De Olla

Frijoles de olla (pot beans) is the foundation of Mexican home cooking. Dried black beans go straight into a pot of boiling water with halved onions and whole heads of garlic, no soaking needed, and simmer until creamy and tender.

Three whole heads of garlic sounds like a lot, but they mellow completely during the long cook. The cloves practically dissolve into the broth, leaving behind a sweet, roasted garlic flavor with no sharp bite.

The trick that makes these special: blend one cup of the cooked beans with a little broth and stir it back in. This thickens the pot liquor from thin bean water into a silky, starchy sauce without adding anything extra.

Chef Tips

• Add salt after the first hour, never at the beginning. Salt toughens the bean skins if added too early, and they’ll take much longer to cook through.
• Keep the water at a slow, steady boil. A hard rolling boil breaks the beans apart and makes the broth murky. You want intact beans in a thick broth.
• Don’t drain these beans. The cooking liquid (pot liquor) is half the dish. Serve the beans in their broth in bowls.

Variations

• Top with crumbled queso fresco, chopped serrano chile, diced tomato, and fresh cilantro for a traditional garnish.
• Use pinto beans instead of black beans for frijoles de olla pintos, which is equally traditional in northern Mexico.
• Add a sprig of epazote during cooking for the classic herb flavor that’s hard to find outside Mexico but worth seeking out.