Hot Sauce for Refried Beans

This recipe goes along with the refried beans and comes from one of Mollie Katzen's books, I think. I can't remember which! It was given to me by a friend, and it far surpasses any of the store-bought hot sauces. Use it to make tostadas with deep-fried flour tortillas. Top with cheese, Greek yogurt, fresh chives. YUM!

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Hot Sauce for Refried Beans

1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons dry red wine
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Saute the onions and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the olive oil until onion is clear. Add spices. Transfer to a saucepan and add tomatoes, water, tomato paste and wine. Add remaining salt.

Cover and simmer 1/2 hour or longer. The longer, the better, up to several hours

You can puree some or all of this, or leave it chunky. We like it chunky. :-)

Homemade Refried Beans

Canned refried beans from the store are often filled with fat and sodium. Once you've made refried beans yourself, you'll see that the difference is astounding.

Be sure to think ahead when you want to make these refried beans, because you'll need to start soaking the beans about 3-4 hours before you need to eat. After you've made them, spread them on tortillas, either homemade or store-bought, and sprinkle on some hot sauce, cheddar cheese, green onions, olives...whatever you like, and warm them up a bit. A dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a bit of fresh cilantro, and you'll be hooked.

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Refritos

2 cups raw pinto beans, soaked for at least 1 1/2 hours
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced green pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
olive oil

Once the pintos have been soaking for at least an hour and a half, cover them with more water and cook, partially covered, until they are soft. Be sure to keep the water level above the beans, as it cooks away. When they're done, drain them and use a potato masher to mash them very well.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the onions, garlic, cumin and salt. Cook over low heat until the onions are soft. Add the peppers, cover and simmer until the peppers are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the veggies to the beans and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve very warm.

Hungarian Pork Roast and Caraway Sauerkraut

For our New Year's Even houseconcert, I wanted to try something different, something other than my standard Lentil Soup fare. And since I'm a very big fan of pork roast, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, I went searching for a recipe that would make my mouth water. This recipe was surely it, and ended up being a very big hit with the houseconcert guests. The comments were made mostly in regard to the thickened sauerkraut and the onion gravy. Cook the pork sl-o-o-o-o-w-ly for maximum tenderness and flavor!

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Hungarian Pork Roast with Onion Gravy and Caraway Sauerkraut

1 large pork roast (6-7 pounds)
7 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons sugar to caramelize the onions
salt and pepper

Seer all sides of the roast in a hot roasting pan over high heat. Do not add any fat.
Put all the chopped onions and 2 tablespoons sugar into a roasting pan (I use my electric roaster when doubling this for a great big batch) and cover.
Cook at 325 degrees for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Check periodically to turn it over and push the onions around. The onions should caramelize, or take on a rich, brown color.

When roast is finished cooking, remove it from the roasting pan.
Mix 2 tablespoons of flour into 2 cups of water.
Stir the water/flour mixture into the onions, scraping the sides of the pan to get all of the onions/juices into the gravy. Season with salt and pepper.

Caraway Sauerkraut
2 pounds of Sauerkraut, preferably the bagged kind, rinsed and drained
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of lard or butter, partially melted
2 tablespoons of flour

Put the sauerkraut in a pot. Add the caraway seeds, sugar and water.
Slowly cook until the kraut is soft, about a 1/2 hour.
In a small bowl, mix the lard or butter and the flour. Stir into the kraut. Stir until thickened.
Simmer for five minutes.

Serve this with mashed potatoes (be sure to make your mashed potatoes with plenty of butter, cream cheese, heavy cream and salt/pepper).

Original recipe found at June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Recipes. It's packed with fabulous foods! This particular dish includes a recipe for Farina dumplings which I have not yet tried, but look fabulous and can be frozen for use in other recipes. Her recipe for mashed potatoes looks great, with the addition of egg and sour cream.