Here's my cleaning out the fridge fajita tostadas from last Friday. It's a fried corn tortilla topped with refried beans and a saute of what was left in my fridge. In this case, it's a bit of red bell pepper, a handful of green beans, and some strips of Nonna's seitan. After sauteing these bits with some onions and garlic, I threw in a mixture of orange and lime juices with a little agave nectar and some cumin, coriander, cayenne, oregano, salt and pepper. I let it all simmer a bit and then put it atop my tostadas with a sprinkle of shredded carrot and a few slices of avocado.
Paul said I could even make this intentionally and not just as an emergency let's-not-let-this-vege-go-to-waste-and-we-really-need-to-eat-something meal.
Oh by the way, here's Paul's recipe for refried beans. I guess it's really more a technique than a recipe. It's so basic, but I didn't know how to make good refried beans until Paul had the opportunity to watch some ladies preparing a huge vat of frijoles refritos in Mexico with nothing more than corn oil and cooked beans. Yes, those cooked beans would have simmered for hours with onion and epazote, but this is our quicky weeknight standby. Plus I like the beans to be really simple and comforting to serve as a foil for whatever zesty accompaniments we have goin' on. And so we start with a can of beans...
Basic Refried Beans
Heat 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add one can of pinto beans with their liquid. Let simmer until the beans are soft and mashable, but not until all the liquid has absorbed. Mash the beans to your liking with salt. That's it.
