Refried Tahini Beans.
Like a lot of people I cannot help being influenced by Ottolengui and Sami Tamimi’s food, but more than that middle eastern flavours have always fascinated me , I often make use of their spices in my cooking and tahini paste has become a must in my pantry too.
Tahini paste is made of sesame seeds, it has beautiful consistency and nutty flavour that works so well for sweet and savoury dishes.
This is an easy everyday recipe that I find very useful in my home and I know I probably said it before so forgive me if I sound repetitive, but homemade refried beans not only are easy to make but way better than any store bought ones so please never buy tinned refried beans again and do try this recipe.
Here are some ideas on how to use refried tahini beans:
As a tasty dip alongside tortilla chips.
To fill homemade sweet potato Gorditas.
Perfect filling for Tetelas.
Or a smear of this on your tostadas and then the topping of your preference.
To make molletes.
For everyday cooking I would serve a side of this alongside picadillo and mexican rice.
1 portion for 3-4 people as a dip.
Ingredients:
300 grams of mixed heirloom tomatoes.
1 tbsp of olive oil for cooking.
1 pinch of sea salt and black coarse pepper.
1 tbsp rapeseed oil, or any cooking oil of your preference.
1/2 white onion (roughly chopped).
1 garlic clove (minced).
1 tsp of ground pasilla.
1 tsp of ground ancho chili.
1 tsp ground cumin.
1 can of drained organic cooked pinto beans or black beans.
*If you have freshly made beans at home even better just use two cups of them.
Sea salt and Black coarse pepper to season.
2 cups of washed and drained baby spinach.
1 tbsp of white tahini paste.
1 cup of vegetable stock.
1 tbsp of rapeseed oil .
Serve with:
Tostadas or tortilla chips on the side.
Method.
Preheat your oven at 180 C.
In a small baking dish add your heirloom tomatoes halved or whole, drizzle them with olive oil and add a pinch of sea salt, roast them in the oven for about 25-30 min, approx.
In the meantime heat up your oil in a frying pan, once is hot enough add the onion and garlic, fry gently and stir to avoid it from burning, you may add your spices and beans now, season with salt and pepper according to taste, stir, and let it cook together for a couple of minutes.
Toss in the baby spinach and three quarters of your roasted tomatoes, stir until the spinach softens up and cooks through, this only takes a couple of seconds.
Remove your pan from the hob and place the bean mixture into your blender, add the tahini paste and vegetable stock to aid blending, whiz up really smooth and return your beans to the frying pan with a bit of oil, simmer on low-medium heat and stir continuously until desired thickness.
If you are using your refried beans as a dip I recommend not to dry them too much, for a filling perhaps a less runny consistency is better.
Remove your beans from the heat and spoon into a bowl, spread over with a spoon, and top with freshly chopped spinach and the remaining roasted tomatoes , serve with tortilla chips on the side.
If you have any leftovers or want to prepare them ahead and eat during the week, you may store them in a container with a lid and keep it in the fridge, for up to 4 days. Alternatively you can freeze them for up to a month.