Black beans with Nopales

Ingredients

• 4 white onion, thickly sliced, pan-roasted until brown and soft
• 16 cloves garlic, pan roasted until brown and soft and then pealed
• 4 tomatoes, pan-roasted until blistered, deeply browned and soft
• 8 C black beans, picked over
• 3 Q water
• 4 tbsp corn oil
• 8 chipotle chiles
• 3 tbsp salt
• 8 C nopales (.5 x 1.5")
• 60 fresh epazote leaves

Procedure

1. Puree the onion, garlic, and tomatoes until smooth.
2. Place mixture with beans and water into a large pot.
3. Bring to boil, then simmer until beans are soft - about 1.5 hours.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry chiles until puffed and brown.
5. Shake off excess oil and add to beans along with 2/3 of the epazote leaves.
6. Continue to cook until beans are very tender - about 30 minutes.
   • beans should be souplike.
7. Remove chipotles
   • For spicier beans, break up the chiles and add back to the beans.
8. Serve in bowls with epazote leaves as garnish