Enfrijoladas

my comfort food
30 min
8-12
easy

Enfrijoladas are one of the comfort foods I grew up with. I love them. They’re filling, cozy, and can come together very quickly, especially if you already have frijoles de la olla in the fridge. I used leftover beans from the weekend along with my homemade curtidos of pickled carrots, potatoes, onions, and jalapeños, but you can absolutely keep it simple and use more traditional garnishes.

And yes, some people will say you can use canned beans and store-bought tortillas. You can — but you already know that’s not my recommendation. Homemade frijoles and fresh tortillas make all the difference.

Preparation

Ingredients

  • 3 cups frijoles de la olla (with a little of their liquid)
  • 6 strips bacon
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
  • 1 guajillo chile, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
  • 2 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Salt, to taste
  • Tortillas (as many as you’d like)
  • Neutral oil or olive oil, for brushing/frying tortillas
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups queso fresco
  • Shredded iceberg lettuce
  • Mexican crema
  • Pickled jalapeños or curtidos
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chicharron de chile

Instructions

  1. Make your tortillas ahead of time, or use good-quality purchased tortillas.
  2. In a large pan, cook the bacon until almost crisp. Add the chopped onion, garlic cloves, and torn chiles to the same pan and sauté until the onions begin to soften and everything smells deeply fragrant, about 5 to 8 minutes.
  3. Add the beans and stir everything together. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes so all the flavors can come together. Let cool slightly, then blend until smooth. Stir in the red wine vinegar and season with salt. Add a little more broth if you prefer a thinner consistency.
  4. To prep the tortillas, you can quickly fry them in oil, but I prefer doing them in the oven. Brush both sides lightly with oil and bake at high heat for about 5 minutes. You want them lightly toasted with a little texture, but still pliable. The goal is to create a slight fat barrier so they don’t immediately get soggy once dipped in the bean sauce.
  5. To assemble, create a little station with your queso fresco and garnishes ready to go. Dip each tortilla into the warm bean mixture on both sides, transfer to a cutting board, fill with queso fresco, fold over, and place onto a serving plate. Repeat with 3 to 4 tortillas per serving.
  6. Top with shredded iceberg lettuce dressed simply with olive oil, chicharron de chile, salt, and pepper. Finish with Mexican crema, pickled jalapeños or curtidos, and a little extra queso fresco over the top.
  7. Serve warm.

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