Tortillas, Frijoles Refritos, and Other Basics of Mexican Cooking

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These thin, chewy pancakes taste their scrumptious best when eaten hot off the griddle. They also keep remarkably well when securely wrapped and then refrigerated or frozen.

FRIJOLES REFRITOS

No real Mexican meal, or comida (coeMEE-dah), would be complete without frijoles refritos (free-HOLE-ase ray-FREEtose), or refried beans. They're the perfect complement to tortillas . . . they're the main ingredient for a number of very popular Mexican dishes . . . and they're delicious all by themselves.

I've tried several kinds of bean—spink, pinto, kidney—in my frijoles refritos recipe and, although they're all good, I always come back to the pink ones. They just seem sweeter somehow, and they're my favorite.

Simmer one-half pound of the dry beans until they're almost tender, add one cup of finely chopped onion, simmer for another five minutes, and then remove the pan from the stove. Drain off any excess water and mash the beans. Then return the pan to a low heat, stir in at least one-third of a cup of bacon drippings (I add as much as the beans will absorb but not enough to build up a layer of oil on their surface), and flavor the dish to taste with grated cheese. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator and then either heat them in a pan or fry them in a little oil for another meal.

A word about pig fat: As far as I'm concerned, it's the bacon grease and that grease alone which gives frijoles their distinctive flavor and it would be a crime to use any other shortening in this recipe. But that's a matter of personal taste and you may well prefer some other kind of lard. No matter what you use, though (and, again, I'm holding out for bacon grease), the important thing is not to skimp on this flavoring!

Frijoles refritos, as their name implies, can be reheated or refried a number of times . . . if you have any left over!

TACOS

More hectic days here in the Campbell household end with a dinner of tacos (TAHkose) than with any other food. Taco "shells" are really just folded-over corn tortillas fried in about one-half inch of oil on a medium-high burner (instead of cooked on a griddle) so that they come out more like giant corn chips instead of chewy pancakes.

Ease each tortilla into the oil and, as it starts sizzling, fold the circle of rolled-out or pressed dough in half with tongs to turn it into sort of a U-shaped shell. Then fry the shell and turn it until it's crisp but still slightly flexible. This usually takes about one minute and it's important that you not overcook your taco shells (otherwise they'll break when you pry them apart to stuff them).

Karen Valentine, I hear, eats greasy tacos with milk . . but I happen to prefer mine drained, thank you. Suit yourself. And suit yourself when you fill the fried shells. We like ours stuffed with crumbled, fried hamburger that has been moistened with frijoles refritos. The meat is then topped with shredded lettuce, grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and onions, black olives, avocados, slices of hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, mushrooms . . . you name it. The more variety we have, the better.

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