Refritos Salvadoreños

Source: Kate Wentland

Ingredients

• 1 pound Salvadoran red beans
• 8 cups water
• 2 onions (separated)
• 1 whole head of garlic (separated)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 4 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil

Method

1. Add the beans to a large soup pot with the water. Thinly slice one of the onions, and add it to the beans. Peel 4 of the garlic cloves, and leave them whole. Add the garlic cloves to the beans, along with the salt and cumin.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours, until the beans are soft. At this point, you could stop and enjoy this as soup.
3. Transfer most of this to a blender. You may reserve some of the liquid if it looks too soupy. You can use what you are not using for a separate soup, if you wish. Puree the beans in the blender until very smooth.
4. Cut the remaining onion into 4 quarters. Peel the remaining garlic cloves, but leave them whole. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. When hot, add the onion quarters and peeled garlic. Saute on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. They will develop brown areas, and might look almost burnt, but they will smell wonderful. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the oil, and add them to the blender. Keep the oil in the pan. It has absorbed the flavor of the onions and garlic, and you will use it to fry the beans.
5. Use the blender to puree the sauteed onions and garlic into the beans. When smooth, ladle this back into the skillet. Stir and cook around 10-15 minutes, until it thickens to your desired consistency. Add more salt to taste.