Frijoles de la Olla (Mexican stewed Pinto Beans)

Let's talk beans... This is a recipe for the best stewed pinto beans I've ever made. It's slightly adapted from a Milk Street recipe found in the July/August 2020 issue. The secret to it's fresh flavor is to add the sofrito after the beans have cooked rather than while the beans are cooking.

For the beans:
1 lb dried pinto beans - rinsed
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons lard or neutral oil
1 medium white onion - chopped
2 medium garlic cloves - thinly sliced
1 bunch of cilantro (stems finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped, reserved separately)
1 1/2 quarts low sodium chicken broth

For the sofrito:
2 tablespoons lard or neutral oil
1 large white onion - chopped
Salt and Pepper
4 medium garlic cloves - minced
2 lbs ripe tomatoes - cored and roughly chopped
2 jalapeno chilies - stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

To prepare the beans:
-Soak beans overnight or longer in 2 quarts of water with 2 tablespoons of salt. (Soaked beans cook more evenly and quickly than un-soaked ones. A couple of tablespoons of salt in the soaking water produces a creamier, more velvety texture in the cooked beans)
-In a large Dutch oven, heat the lard over medium until shimmering. Add the onion and 1 tsp of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown (about 5-7 minutes). Stir in the garlic and the cilantro stems and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
-Add drained beans and broth, bring to boil over medium-high, then cover and reduce to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender (2 - 2 1/2 hours).

While the beans cook, you can make the sofrito:
-In a 12 inch nonstick skilled over medium, heat the lard until shimmering. Add onion and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook stirring occasionally, until well browned (7-9 minutes).
-Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds)
-Add tomatoes and jalapenos and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes have broken down, the liquid they relased has cooked off and the mixture begins to sizzle (10-15 minutes).
-Remove from heat and set aside

When the beans are done, remove the pot from the heat and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes to allow the liquid to thicken slightly. Return the beans to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally.
-Add the sofrito and cook until heated through (5-10 minutes)
-Taste and season with salt and pepper
-Stir in the cilantro leaves and serve