Refried Beans

I am not Mexican, nor have I spent any appreciable amount of time in or near Spanish communities, but I love the food! This is my interpretation of the ubiquitous and delicious refried beans recipe. Any kind of large, pinto-like bean will do with recipe. So far, the most successful has been Neabel's Ukrainian pole beans, which just fell apart with the extra long cooking in this recipe.

1 lb dried beans (2lbs 5oz when cooked), soaked overnight and drained*
1 bay leaf
4 cups of broth
½ cup (4oz/114gr) bacon fat (or lard or butter or olive oil or any combination of these)

1. try peanut oil

1 large (10oz/280g) onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne (or ¼ tsp chipotle pepper and ¼ tsp cayenne)
Mild white cheese to serve

Excellent with Red Rice and thin sliced cabbage

1. Bring about 4 cups of broth to a boil and add the beans with the bay leaf. Lower the heat and simmer the beans for about an hour. 
2. When the beans are soft, remove pot from heat.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the bacon fat (or whatever combination of fat you choose to use - if going vegetarian, add a few dashes of soy sauce for depth of flavour) and gently cook the onions and garlic until soft. With this much fat and low heat, you're poaching the onion. Note that the garlic may well caramelize - not a bad thing! 
4. Add the spices and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Remove the bay leaf from the beans. Pour the beans and their liquid into the onion-garlic mixture. 
6. Leave uncovered and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender and falling apart, about ½ to 1 hour more, adding more broth or water as necessary to create a thick pasty sauce with the starch from the beans. Some beans are more firm, you may need a potato masher to break them up. 

*A soaking shortcut is to cover the beans with water, bring to boil, boil for 2 minutes, turn off the burner, cover, and let them soak for 2 hours. Drain, rinse, and then start recipe.