Black Beans on the Menu

First of all, I truly cannot believe that in all these 5½ years since I have been blogging and setting recipes on my website, I have never once thought to write about my black beans!

I have always liked beans. I grew up on pork & beans of course, and my parents often made Bean Soup using a leftover ham bone and white beans. But it wasn't until I got married and went to live in Guatemala that I encountered Black Beans for the first time. That first time, when I saw them on the table I had absolutely no idea what they were. This was mainly because they were served pureed. There was no form to identify it as beans. When I tasted them, I loved them, though they tasted like no beans I had ever tried before. Pork & Beans are very sweet. Mom & Dad's Bean Soup was savory, but tasted of ham and other vegetables. These black beans had no sweetness, no ham flavor.

As I lived in Guatemala for 12 years, I learned so much about Guatemalan foods, and enjoyed most everything. I embraced learning to cook everything I could. I jumped in with both feet and kept myself firmly entrenched there and to this day, I keep going back to some of these favorite foods. Beans have stayed at the top of the list, mainly as they are easy to find now. Cooking them and preparing them might take a while, but then I have beans made and ready to reheat for a few days. If you leave them "parados," or whole, they really don't take much preparation. To strain them or puree them, they are called "colados" and all you need is a blender, or at very least a food mill. And best of all, my current husband has also come to like them, most particularly if they are made "volteados."

Parados or Cooked - Colados or Strained - Volteados or Turned

"Volteados," you ask?

Okay, so there are three main ways you might find black beans in Guatemala:

• Parados, or cooked and left whole
• Colados, or pureed or strained
• Volteados, literally translated as "turned over," or "flipped" 

Pureeing cooked beans is a simple matter. I generally cook my beans without salt or any other flavors except for apasote / epazote (it was called "apazote" in Guatemala, but here in the US, I find it called "epazote"), an herb used when cooking beans in Guatemala (and Mexico, I presume) because it is supposed to help with that little problem when one eats beans, parodied in the little ditty that begins, "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart . . ." I have no idea if the use of epazote does help with that affliction or not, but I found that I love the flavor epazote gives to the beans, so while I no longer find it fresh in the market (or in the backyard - it is a weed after all!), I can buy it dried, and happily, it is one of those herbs that retains its flavor when dried.  Here are two photos from online that show best how to identify it. Believe me, once you smell it, there is no doubting you got the right thing, and this helps eliminate some lookalike herbs that do not have this scent. It is pungent, herbal, resinous. It is not unpleasant, but only strong.

Epazote herb

Once my beans are cooked through, I saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet until deep golden and caramelized. I add these to the beans, along with salt, and that is all it takes, if you are eating them whole. If there is too much liquid in the pot, I cook some of the liquid out, slowly, but other than that, the beans are done.

If I prefer to make them pureed, or colados (literally, "strained" as they used a food mill for this task, when I lived in Guatemala), I then put them into the blender and puree them smooth and there you have them. And only then can they be made properly into "Volteados."

How to make Frijoles Volteados

Once you have pureed your cooked, flavored beans, you can begin making them into Volteados. In the photo below, I took photos at 5-minute intervals. This is accurate only if your beans are not too runny (it will take a while longer to evaporate too much liquid), or your heat too low during the process (in which case it will take a while longer to stir them until they are dry enough to "flip," or roll around in the skillet). 

The whole process is one of evaporation. If there is a lot of liquid with the beans when they are pureed, then it will take a lot longer to make Volteados. If you plan to make Volteados, it is best to allow the whole beans to cook down and evaporate some of their liquid. The reasoning is simple: while they are whole, the liquid can boil down without much hands-on attention. Once they are pureed, they will need to be stirred vigorously for the full time it takes to evaporate out the liquid. If you stop stirring, you run the risk of burning the beans, and all it takes is one bit of inattention to turn a heavenly dish into an inedible dish.

Making Frijoles Volteados

To start the process, add oil (I use olive oil) to a large, heated skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Then:

1. Pour in the pureed beans.
2. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Lower heat slightly if needed; the beans will boil and splatter, and they are HOT. Like molten lava hot!
4. Continue stirring. After a few minutes, you should be able to see the pan, when scraping through the beans with the wooden spoon, as in photo 2 above. 
5. In another few minutes, the beans will have gotten very noticeably thicker and start to clean the skillet in spots, as in photo 3 in the sequence.
6. Once the beans come together in a whole mass, as in photo 4 of the sequence, begin to tilt the pan one way and then the other, forming them into a smooth, somewhat crescent-like shape.
7. Turn out onto a platter to serve, hot or warm.

Possibly, these are such a hit because they are further cooked down, evaporating liquids from them until the whole batch comes together into one, semi-solid, mass. It may not look very appealing at first glance, I understand. But once all the excess moisture is cooked out, the flavors are really concentrated, and they are just this side of heaven, in flavor. 

Black Beans

Black Beans

Basic Recipe
Makes a large pot of beans

1 pound black turtle beans
Epazote herb, fresh or dried, optional
1 tablespoon cooking oil or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 teaspoons salt

Sort through the dry beans, preferably the night before, removing any debris or stones. Wash them well, then place in a bowl and cover with water by about 3 inches. Let set overnight. 

In the morning, drain the beans and place them into a large, heavy duty pot with tight-fitting lid. Cover with clean water by about 2 - 3 inches and set to boil. If you have access to epazote herb, place one or two sprigs in with the beans to cook. If you have only dried epazote herb, use about 1 to 2 teaspoons, or more, to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with lid. Cook the beans for about 2 hours, or until they are very tender and beginning to fall apart.

Separately, heat a large skillet and add in the oil. Sauté the onion and garlic slowly, stirring often, until deep golden brown. Pour this into the pot with the cooked beans and the salt, as desired. Stir well, then cook for about 10 minutes to meld flavors. Serve them whole or use one of the methods above to puree or make volteados.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Little Corn Tamales from Guatemala

While this recipe is one generally made towards the end of corn growing season in August, I am posting it here today because I realized that in all this time since starting my website and blog, I had never entered this recipe. What an oversight!

While going back through older blog posts, I was correcting errors and remedying broken links when I found the post from December of 2012 where I wrote about tamales in general, listing the various sorts found in Guatemala. There are many and varied types of tamales found there. By far, for the most part they are savory. The little corn tamales I am writing about today are sweet. Sweet like corn bread or other lightly sweetened breads. 

I had not had access to field corn for all the years back in the U.S., up until just a few years ago. I finally got the chance to make them, much to my delight. I photographed every step of the way in the process, in order to have the photos for demonstration later, for my kids and anyone else who might be interested. The only problem?

I forgot to take photos once they were steamed and ready to eat! I had to go online and find photos from someone else to demonstrate the final product.... This photo above is from a website from El Salvador, but the tamalitos in the photo look exactly like mine!

Spanish Language Terms

Removing Kernels from Cobs

In Guatemala, these little corn tamales are called "Tamalitos de Elote." A "tamal" is one tamal. "Tamales" means more than one tamal. When the diminutive ending of "ito" is applied, this means that something is smaller. So, "Tamalitos" are little tamales. The word "elote" means corn, but refers to younger corn and not dried. Dried corn is maiz, in Spanish, or maize.

Now that that is straight, I will go a step further and relate what was spoken to me about just the right point to pick the corn for Tamalitos de Elote. I was told that the corn had to be dried far past eating as young corn, but not yet dried all the way through. The kernels must be dried to the point where if a fingernail is poked into a kernel, a little "milk" must still seep out. At this point, while not terribly easy, the kernels can be stripped off the cobs with the germ still attached. Too much earlier and it is a near impossibility to remove the kernels from the cob. Even at this stage, while stripping the kernels, some will pop and the milk will spray all over the place. My husband helped me the day I made these and we marveled for months after at the places we still spotted dried corn milk!

Green corn husks for use as wrappers

The Wrappers

Unlike other tamales, which are wrapped in maxan leaves (Calathea lutea), banana leaves or dried corn husks, Tamalitos de Elote are wrapped in their own green corn husks, shown at right. The husks must be removed carefully, so as to preserve sufficient large segments for wrapping the batter.This is easiest if the base of the cob is sliced off, leaving a smooth edge at the bottom of the husks, and making them easy to remove intact.

Tamalitos de Elote 

or, Sweet Corn Tamalitos 

Grinding Corn Kernels, 1st grind

Makes about 2 dozen tamalitos

12 ears corn, nearly dry, kernels removed whole
½ to ¾ cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon true cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda

Grind the corn: I used a traditional hand grinder, brought back with me from Guatemala. The setting needs to be very tight, so as to grind as finely as possible. Even so, the whole batch must be ground through a second time in order to make the mixture finely enough textured. (Possibly a Vitamix blender as an alternative would result in finely enough ground corn.) 

Mix the resultant corn mush with the butter and sugar (start with the smaller amount, tasting and sweetening to your taste). It should be something like the sweetness of a Jiffy® Corn Muffin mix. Add in the butter, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir well. 

1) widest husks   -   2) a dollop of batter goes in   -   3) fold in the edges of husk to envelop

Using the green corn husks, select the ones with the greatest width as shown above. 1) Hold the widest end downwards, spread it open and 2) place a dollop of about ½ cup of the batter onto the husk. 3) Fold in both edges to cover the mixture. This is facilitated by the fact that the corn husks are naturally rounded and conform themselves to wrapping very easily.

4) Finish folding in both edges of the husk, and 5) a long tube shape is formed. 6) Flip the pointed end of the husk back along the length of the filled section. 7) Turn the tamal so the folded edge is downwards.

4) fold in husk   -   5) makes a long tube   -   6) flip pointed end up   -   7) Turn so pointed and open ends are upwards

Set this little packet into a large pot with a rack in the bottom. Set the remaining tamalitos against each other so the open ends lean upwards, to avoid spills. Pour about 2 cups water in the bottom of the pot. The water should not touch the tamalitos. Bring to boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and steam 1 hour.

Tamalitos in pan, with open ends upwards

Once the tamalitos are cooled, they may be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. 

To reheat, place a steamer rack into the bottom of a pot with water in the bottom, not touching the rack. Set tamales into the steamer and bring the water to boil. Cover and steam for 20 to 25 minutes.

TO SERVE: Serve these little gems as breakfast, or with breakfast, or as dessert - with butter, or honey, or sour cream, Mexican Crema or Queso Fresco.

NOTE: These tamalitos may be frozen. In this case, proceed exactly as for reheating the refrigerated tamalitos, except the frozen tamales can be set right into the steamer, and must be allowed at minimum 30 to 40 minutes steaming time. Watch the water level carefully. If frozen corn tamalitos are not steamed for long enough, they may be warm, but will result in a mealy product that is no joy to eat. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Guatemalan Adobo

Lomito Adobado, hot off the grill

In these days of internet and innumerable TV cooking shows, many have already heard of Adobo (a marinade), or Adobado (a meat that has been marinated in Adobo Sauce). An Adobo is generally a marinade or a sauce, or a marinade that is also used as a sauce once cooked with the meat. The marinade is often for a meat, and sometimes the meat is grilled after marinating, and sometimes it is cooked or braised. The sauce or marinade itself will vary to some degree, depending on the country or region of a country, and like any other recipe, will vary even in a region, as cooks add "a little of this or that." 

While I lived in Guatemala in the 1970s, the only way I had Carne Adobado (meat in adobo sauce) was buying the meat already in its adobo, and then cooking it at home. I never made the adobo sauce myself. I had a recipe, hand copied from somewhere, but only ever tried to make it once a long while back, when I was again in the States and missing those flavors. The flavors of the sauce made from that copied down recipe came absolutely nowhere near what I had eaten in Guatemala, and in disgust I set the recipe aside, never to use it again. 

Lomito Adobado with Guatemalan Rice and Frijoles Volteados

Then a few years ago I created a Guatemalan cookbook/memoir of a sort as a gift for my oldest daughter's 40th birthday. Any and all recipes, whether copied from someone's book, or a Guatemalan newspaper clipping or from something I approximated myself (with or without help from someone in Guatemala), went into the book, along with memories I had of the food, where I had eaten it and also with many photos found on the internet, of places and things I had seen while there. She loved the book, and the trip down memory lane. But still, many of the recipes were ones I had never actually made myself. 

Since then, 4 years have passed, and I have created a revised edition of this book, again printed here at home, and gave it to my second daughter as she turned 40. At this point, I had tried out more of the recipes, in an effort to get some photos of the finished product for the book. I am still in the process of making more of the recipes, both to test the recipe and to get photos of the dish. One of these was the Lomito Adobado, made last week sometime, and today I am trying out a White Bean with Pork and Chorizo dish (Frijol Blanco con Costilla de Cerdo y Chorizo). This latter will be featured in another blog.

So, back to the Lomito Adobado... In Guatemala, pork was not easy to come by, and so I take leave to doubt that the Carne Adobado was actually made with pork, yet the recipe I had scribbled down does call for pork (loin or tenderloin). I believe that the meat used in the pre-marinated version I got in Guatemala was likely beef, and a cheaper cut, at that. Regardless, the flavors of the marinade itself were what absolutely made the dish, and this time I decided to see if I could do a better job through "taste-memory" at a 40+ year remove.

My old recipe for Lomo Adobado

Ultimately, while the flavors were not absolutely what I recalled, it surely came far closer this time, and I used pork tenderloin, sliced on a bias, as the meat.  I began with the recipe as the card indicated, tasted the adobo and found it severely wanting, as I had that last time. Still, it was a platform from which to build. I thought about other flavorings, spices and seasonings commonly used in Guatemala and added "a little of this and that", until it finally tasted very close to my taste-memory. I did use slightly less of the annatto powder than I might have, and the color was just a bit paler than I recalled, but it was absolutely delicious, nonetheless, and my husband and I ate that dinner with great enjoyment. I served it with Guatemalan Rice and Frijoles Volteados.

Lomito Adobado with Guatemalan Rice and Frijoles Volteados

Lomito Adobado

Serves 4

This Adobo Sauce marinade makes enough for 3 recipes: freeze remainder in separate containers. Make this three days before you want to serve your meal.

Lomito Adobado

1.5 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 4 sections, on a bias

ADOBO SAUCE (marinade):
1½ - 1¾ pounds Roma tomatoes
1 large onion, in wedges
6 - 8 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 guajillo chile pepper, soaked in hot water
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaf
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon allspice berries
4 whole cloves
4-inches of true cinnamon (soft quills) stick
¾ teaspoon salt
2 - 3 teaspoons powdered annatto
3 - 4 teaspoons vinegar
2 - 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cut the Roma tomatoes in halves, lengthwise and scoop out seeds and excess moisture. Set them, cut sides up, on the baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove them to a blender container. Remove the soaked chili from the water, remove the seeds and stem and add the chili to the blender. If you want more heat, you might leave the seeds in. 

Make Adobo Sauce: Switch the oven to broil and set the top rack to whatever height will accommodate the red bell pepper. Set the bell pepper and the onion wedges on the sheet and set to broil. With tongs, toss the onion wedges as they begin to blacken at the edges, separating for even coloring, then remove to the blender. Turn the bell pepper occasionally until it is blackened all over, then remove the pepper to a sealed zip-top bag or other container to steam for about 10 minutes. Set the garlic on the baking sheet and broil until they begin to brown a bit; remove to the blender. Add the oregano to the blender.

Heat a dry skillet over medium high heat and add in the cumin, peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves and the cinnamon, crumbled. Toss with a wooden spoon or spatula to lightly toast and bring out the aromas of the spices. Do not allow them to burn! Remove to the blender container. Add in the salt and annatto powder and blend until smooth. Blend in the smaller amounts of vinegar and lime juice, taste and add more if needed for piquancy. 

This makes about 3 cups of adobo. Divide the extra 2 cups into two freezer containers,

Adobado Sauce, finished

label and freeze. Place the remaining 1 cup of adobo sauce into a zip-top bag large enough to hold the adobo and the pork. Combine the two in the bag and seal tightly. Squish the bag around to ensure all the meat is well coated. Refrigerate for three days.

When ready to cook, heat a grill to medium high heat and grill the pork pieces until they reach your desired doneness. Internal cooking temperature should be a minimum of about 150 degrees. Allow the meat to rest, covered with foil, for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  If a grill ins unavailable, the meat can be roasted at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature is at least 145 to 150 degrees. Tent with foil before serving, the same as if grilling.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.