Chorizo, bacon, chipotle go into Pure Taqueria’s delicious Charro Beans

A: "Beans are sometimes an afterthought, but there's a lot of good stuff in there, " said Pure owner Chris Sedgwick. At Pure, that "good stuff" includes chorizo and bacon, onions, tomatoes, chipotles and cilantro. So eat up — Pure goes through about 40 pounds of dried beans a day, and as Sedgwick reminded us, they are a "magical fruit."

Frijoles Charros

Bring a pot of these smoky (and just a little spicy) beans to your next cookout, and make a whole new batch of friends. Serve with tortillas, so you can scoop every last bit off your plate.

2 pounds dried pinto beans, rinsed

1/4 cup pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1/2 pound chorizo, casing removed

5 to 6 slices smoked bacon, chopped

1/2 large Spanish onion, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (about 1/3 bunch)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

In a large pot, cover the pinto beans with 2 inches cold water and cook over medium-high heat, adding water as necessary. Add the chipotle puree and the tomatoes.

In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the chorizo, bacon and onion, stirring occasionally to break up the chorizo, until the bacon is crispy, about 10 minutes. Add to the bean pot. Add the cilantro and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary, until the beans are tender but still retain their shape, about 1 1/2 hours. Serves: 24

Per serving: 184 calories (percent of calories from fat, 23), 11 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fiber, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 386 milligrams sodium.