Chef Lupita
Blistered Serrano Chiles
Jalisco's chiles toreados are whole serranos blistered hard on a comal, tossed with white onion, lime, and soy, then set beside birria or carne asada for anyone brave enough.
Culinary Explorer
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Frijoles de la Olla del Occidente
Created by
Jalisco's everyday pot of peruano or flor de mayo beans, cooked slowly in clay with onion, epazote, and manteca until the broth turns clear, reddish, and useful.
Side Dishes
Mexican
Budget Friendly
Batch Cooking
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
2 hr 15 min cook•10 hr 30 min total
Yield8 servings
Jalisco and the western Bajio live on these beans. Not black beans. Not refried paste. Frijoles de la olla from the west are usually peruano, flor de mayo, or bayo, pale beans that cook into a clear reddish broth and sit on the table next to tortillas, salsa, and whatever else the day allowed.
In Guadalajara, in Los Altos, in the kitchens between Jalisco and Michoacan, the olla is not decoration. It is economy. A clay pot of beans becomes lunch today, refritos tomorrow, enfrijoladas the day after that. My mother kept flor de mayo in a tin with a tight lid and wrote in her notebook: "no los apures". Do not rush them. She was right.
The manteca matters. You start the onion in manteca de cerdo so the fat perfumes the broth from the beginning. The epazote goes in late enough to stay green and sharp, not cooked into bitterness. No me vengas con atajos. This is the region's spine, and a western table without a pot of beans is not ready to feed anyone. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Beans have been cultivated in Mesoamerica for thousands of years alongside corn and squash, forming the nutritional base of the milpa long before the Spanish arrived. The pale beans common in western and central Mexico, including flor de mayo, bayo, and peruano types, became especially tied to Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato, and neighboring Bajio states through regional seed saving and market preference. Cooking them in clay ollas remained the household standard because the porous clay holds steady heat and gives the broth a rounded mineral taste that metal pots do not copy.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried peruano, flor de mayo, or bayo beans
Quantity
1 pound
picked over and rinsed
water
Quantity
2 quarts, plus more as needed
manteca de cerdo
Quantity
2 tablespoons
white onion
Quantity
1/2 medium
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
lightly crushed
fresh epazote sprig
Quantity
1 small
kosher salt
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons, plus more to taste
warm corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
salsa de molcajete (optional)
Quantity
for serving
queso fresco (optional)
Quantity
for serving
crumbled
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried peruano, flor de mayo, or bayo beanspicked over and rinsed | 1 pound |
| water | 2 quarts, plus more as needed |
| manteca de cerdo | 2 tablespoons |
| white onionfinely chopped | 1/2 medium |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 2 |
| fresh epazote sprig | 1 small |
| kosher salt | 1 1/2 teaspoons, plus more to taste |
| warm corn tortillas (optional) | for serving |
| salsa de molcajete (optional) | for serving |
| queso fresco (optional)crumbled | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Clay olla from Tonala or a heavy 5-quart pot
- •Wooden spoon
- •Comal for warming tortillas
Instructions
- 1
Sort the beans
Spread the beans on a tray and pick through them with your hands. Remove pebbles, cracked beans, and anything that does not belong. Rinse well. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado: old beans take forever and never soften properly, so buy from a vendor with turnover.
- 2
Soak overnight
Cover the beans with plenty of cool water and soak 8 hours or overnight. This is not fancy work. It is planning. The beans hydrate evenly, cook more predictably, and give you a cleaner broth.
- 3
Start the onion
Drain the soaked beans. In a clay olla or heavy pot, melt the manteca over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent and sweet-smelling but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. La manteca es el sabor, and here it carries the onion through the whole pot.
- 4
Simmer the beans
Add the drained beans and 2 quarts fresh water. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat so the surface barely moves. Cover partially and cook until the beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on age. Add hot water as needed to keep the beans covered by about an inch. Do not boil them hard. Broken skins and muddy broth are what happens when the cook gets impatient.
If your pot is clay, bring it up to heat slowly. Clay rewards patience and punishes drama. - 5
Add epazote and salt
When the beans are almost tender, add the epazote and salt. Simmer 20 minutes more, until the broth is clear reddish-brown and the beans are creamy inside but still whole. Taste the broth, not only the bean. It should taste seasoned, warm, and complete.
- 6
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat and let the beans rest 15 minutes in the pot. Remove the epazote if the sprig is large. Ladle beans and plenty of broth into bowls. Serve with warm corn tortillas, salsa de molcajete, and a little queso fresco if your table uses it. The broth is the point. Do not drain it like pasta. Asi se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •For this western version, use peruano, flor de mayo, or bayo beans. Black beans belong more strongly to the south and southeast. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
- •Epazote should smell sharp and green, not dusty. If the bunch is tired, use a smaller amount or leave it out. Bad epazote ruins a pot faster than no epazote.
- •A pressure cooker works when life is pressing you. Cook the soaked beans with the onion, garlic, manteca, and water for about 25 minutes at pressure, then add salt and epazote after opening and simmer 15 minutes. A shortcut only earns its place if the dish still tastes like itself.
Advance Preparation
- •The beans can be cooked up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated in their broth. They improve after a night in the refrigerator.
- •For refritos the next day, spoon beans with a little broth into hot manteca and mash roughly. Do not make them smooth like baby food. Leave some texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 275g)
Calories
340 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
4 mg
Sodium
470 mg
Total Carbohydrates
55 g
Dietary Fiber
13 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
15 g
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