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Frijoles Con Chicos

Source of Recipe

South western


Recipe Introduction

"Chicos are corn in the soft dough stage that has been steamed in the husk and dried. Traditionally, a pit was dug in the ground and the soil heated by burning wood in it for 1 to 2 days. The fire is removed and green ears in the husks are then placed in the pit and covered with soil.. the partially roasted ears are removed, the husks stripped back, and the ears tied together in pairs and hung out to dry. The kernels were roasted to kill the grains, and to help them dry faster to preserve their food value. Chicos are generally cooked with chile and green onions, or in stews". Sometimes they are simply air dried in the hot sun. Bolita beans are hard to find anymore. It is a small brown bean and cooks up faster than pintos. You can use any bean as a substitute. I used pigeon peas once and liked that.

List of Ingredients

2 C dried bolito beans
1/2 C dried chicos
9 C water
1 T salt
2 T lard or 4 slices bacon (or 1/4 pound salt pork, 1/4 inch dice)



Recipe

Use 4 cups water to soak the beans.
Boil chicos in 2 cups water 10 minutes and soak in the water for 1 hour.
Combine the corn and beans with the lard, bacon, or salt pork. Salt them and simmer 4 or more hours (at sea level)