Indian Fry Bread

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I'm going to get throttled for writing about Indian fry bread and not cooking it soon for my wife. It's a risk I'm willing to take. These pop up at festivals and are covered in sugar or honey, but if you live in the Southwest you can find the savory version with beans, lettuce, and salsa. That's what I'm focusing on here.

This dish revolves around the beans. Without great refried beans, you will not have great fry bread. Thankfully making great beans is a 10 minute process, so fear not. Em makes the best beans (my mom makes her cook them whenever we have this as a family), which started as my dad's recipe years ago. I insist, buy the fat free beans. Add your own fat into them in the form of bacon grease. THIS makes the beans. If you don’t have a container of bacon drippings in your refrigerator, I have to ask why not?

I love to top mine with lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, and even some guacamole. Creamy beans and sour cream, the crunch of the fry bread and lettuce, and the tang of guacamole. Close your eyes and imagine how delicious that sounds. Corn, chiles, onions, whatever you want. Have a party!

Indian Fry Bread

Dough (makes ~ 10-12)
2 cups flour plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups warm water
Canola oil for frying

Beans
1 can fat-free refried beans (I prefer Rosarita)
1 tablespoon bacon drippings
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup shredded Colby-jack cheese

Toppings
Chopped iceberg lettuce or cabbage
Sour cream
Diced green onions
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Guacamole
Diced tomatoes

To make the beans, heat the bacon drippings in a small pot over medium heat until melted. Add beans and combine. Add milk and cheese and stir to combine. When beans start to bubble reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

Heat oil (enough for at least 1 inch deep) to 350-375°C in a wide skillet. To make dough, combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Slowly add warm water, mixing until a moist dough forms. Break off ~1/2 cup of dough and place on a floured surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top and roll to ~1/8 inch thickness. Using your finger poke a hole in the center (this prevents it from inflating too much in the oil). Gently place in oil and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Adjust oil temperature as needed. Flip and cook other side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to remove excess oil. Repeat with remaining dough (depending on size of skillet, you can cook 1-2 at the same time).

To build, spread beans on fry bread followed by sour cream and guacamole (if using). Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, green onions, and salsa.

Cooking With Wolfes Episode 2- Salsa and Guacamole

TweetI'm back!  Episode 2 is functional!  Thanks again to my friend Matt Bethune for shooting and editing this.  More to come soon!  


Recipes can be found HERE

The Salsa and Guacamole Show

With my cooking quite often, a lot of people have started assuming I cook only fancy food. Look folks, I'm a recent college graduate working hard to pay off my student debt. The only time I have truffle oil is when I'm in a restaurant. Plain and simple. My cooking has always been about ease and taste. Sure, I occasionally like to break outside the mold and make something that takes me way too long (looking at you, smoked ribs), but my schedule usually consists of my coming home, running, playing with the dog, doing any other chores around the house, and then cooking dinner in the space of about an hour. In fact, I imagine that's most people's schedule. It's all about time. One reason I write this blog is to inspire people to cook, to not buy prepackaged food and spend the little bit of time in your kitchen making something you and your family will enjoy.

That's my inspirational statement of the month. But continuing with that theme, here are two recipes I have posted a long time ago, but easily made together in the space of about 15 minutes. Salsa and guacamole. They can be made side by side, and I keep most of the ingredients on hand at all times. Hope you enjoy.

Salsa (Easy Variety)
1 15-ounce can diced (or petite diced) tomatoes
1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
3 green onions
¼ cup cilantro leaves

Salsa (Fresh Variety)
3 tomatoes, diced
2 green chiles, roasted, peeled, and diced
3 green onions
¼ cup cilantro leaves

For the chunky- chop green onions and cilantro fine. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, season with salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, and cayenne if you want more spice. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

For the not-so-chunky- Cut green onions into quarters. Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times to a desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, and cayenne if you want more spice. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Guacamole
2 avocados
2 green onions, chopped fine
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ cup salsa (the stuff you just made)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Mash avocados in a bowl. Add the lime juice and stir well. Mix in the green onions and salsa, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (don’t leave that out). Serve immediately, or if keeping until
later, cover with plastic wrap pressed tightly against the surface.