Mexicans love beans. They're an essential part of our daily diet. As a teenager, I remember my mother whipping up amazing dishes with just beans, chilies and masa.... you could make an infinitive amount of delicious meals with beans- she would say- and she's right!

Black beans, pinto beans and bayo beans are the most common varieties in Mexico. In the north part of the country, where I'm from, we favour black beans. Black beans are full of iron, rich in fiber and a fab source of protein and antioxidants. They also have the highest content of omega 3-fatty acids from all the beans. They work wonders with your lower intestine and if prepared correctly, with a pinch of Epazote (a Mexican herb) you can even minimise their gassy effect!

Apart from all their health benefits, they are absolutely delicious! I try and make them from scratch if at all possible, check out my recipe for black beans from scratch. It's cheaper and better for you. You can make a big batch, portion it and freeze it. But if you are stuck, tinned ones are ok too (like these La Sierra ones from Picado). I of course only buy/eat Mexican whole black beans because I like their flavour. Do not confuse them with the Chinese black beans you can buy in most supermarkets and Asian shops, they are NOT the same variety. Chinese black beans are smaller and flatter, derived from soy and with a completely different taste!

The recipe here for Enfriojoladas (or a sort of bean flavoured enchilada) is the result of me finding a bag of frozen black beans in my freezer, which were crying to be eaten. I would have normally made some spicy refried beans, but today, I felt I needed to give them a little more love, so ended up tweaking an old recipe and making them into a sauce for enfrijoladas. I loved how they turned out. The taste is subtle, but flavoursome and although it is a classic vegetarian dish, I used a tiny bit of Old Farm's fabulous pork lard to heat them on. If you want this fully vegetarian, substitute the lard for olive oil and double the quantity.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Let's set the record straight: if it's not cooked, it's not a salsa. This lark of chopping raw tomatoes, onions, chillies and add some lime juice and a truckload of coriander (cilantro) and call it a 'salsa' is completely preposterous in my books. Everyone who's ever been in one of my workshops knows how much I hate that. Call it a Pico de Gallo, a salad, a topping, but please, please, please, don't call it a salsa coz it's not.

We have tons of ways of making salsas and very family would have a favourite method and ingredients: sometimes we cook the ingredients and then blend them, sometimes we blend the ingredients and then cook them, but at some point in the making of the salsa process and with very rare expemptions, the ingredients are cooked. 

Now by cooking I loosely include things like toasting, charring, boiling, pan frying, oven or open fire roasting, grilling, etc. some salsas might require a couple of these methods at the same time, for example, If you are making of a mole, you will have to toast, pan fry and boil ingredients. Every salsa is different and there are thousands of recipes.

Having said all this, the salsa I'm sharing here with you is pretty much RAW.... and yes, I dare to call it a salsa!! Before you tell me this is a do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do-kinda-thing, let me tell you that the devil is in the detail, or better said in the name. By calling it 'raw' in Spanish we are heavily impling it's an unfinished salsa, a salsa that is yet to be cooked...  and the cooking is going to happen the moment you drop a couple of tablespoons in the very, very hot beef broth called Caldo de Res, which this salsa is destined to go to.  

So now you know why I'm making a 'raw' salsa and why I can call it a salsa. It is made as a topping or accompaniment to a particular dish called Caldo de Res. Although the salsa flavour is odd and unfinished to my taste, and let's face it, it doesn't look too attractive either, the minute it hits the hot broth on your plate, it'll instantly cook and it will add not only colour, but a wonderful taste to an otherwise plain and clean dish. If you have any of the salsa left, you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week, or you can turn it into a quick sauce for chilaquiles by cooking it in a little bit of onion and oil.

Go on, make this Caldo de Res and this raw sauce for dinner, it will change your world!