Black Bean Hummus: Fantastic Blend of Indian and Mexican Cuisines
Mexican Black Bean Hummus is a great marriage of traditional Indian and Mexican foods. This fantastic recipe includes black beans in place of garbanzo beans while keeping the traditional tahini and cumin. You’ll find lime juice in place of lemon juice along with roasted red pepper and cilantro. Serve it with your favorite Middle Eastern or Mexican dishes.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup (2 small) lime juice
- ½ (½ cup) large red pepper reserve some for toppings
- 2 cans (30 oz) black beans rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup (53 g) extra-virgin olive oil plus more for toppings
- 1½ tsp (3-4 g) ground cumin
- ¼ cup (handful) fresh cilantro reserve some for toppings
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
- 4 tbsp (59 ml) water
- ¼ cup (60 g) tahini paste
Optional Toppings
- 1-2 jalapenos chopped
Instructions
Roast Red Pepper
- Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 450˚F (232˚C) and line a baking sheet with foil. TIP: For convenience, use store-bought roasted peppers and forego roasting them.
- Clean and remove all labels and stickers from the pepper. Cut the pepper in half (top to bottom) and remove the stem and seeds. Place each pepper half on a foil-lined pan with skin side up.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pepper skin turns blistered and black (charred). Once charred, remove the pepper halves with tongs and place them in a plastic bag or bowl. Seal the bag or cover the bowl with plastic and allow the peppers to sit for 20 minutes to soften the skin. Then, pull the charred skin off each pepper (eat the skin or discard it) and set peppers aside.
Process All Ingredients
- In a small bowl, add garlic cloves and cover with lime juice. Set aside to soak for ~10 minutes.TIP: Soaking the garlic in lemon juice cuts the bitterness of the garlic and adds garlic flavor to the juice.
- Drain and rinse 2 cans of black beans.
- In the bowl of a blender or food processor, add beans, oil, lime juice, cumin, red pepper, salt, cilantro, and water. Use a small strainer to strain out the garlic adding only the lime juice to the food processor, discard any remaining garlic.TIP: Straining the garlic eliminates the bitterness entirely while adding garlic flavor to the hummus. You can certainly add the garlic and forego any soaking if you don’t mind that bit of a bite.
- Process for 30 seconds or so. Use a spatula to scrape down sides as needed and add ¼ cup tahini. Process again for another 30 seconds or so. Taste and check consistency. Add additional tahini, water, lime juice, &/or oil depending on preferred consistency and flavor. Season with additional salt, as needed. Process for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in any optional mix-ins.TIP: Add tahini near the end because absorbs water and we want the water to thin out the beans and not be soaked into the tahini right away.
- Spoon the hummus into a bowl or on a serving platter. Drizzle additional olive oil over the top and additional reserved toppings like cilantro or chopped pepper. Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Storing:
Cover and store in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, spoon the hummus in a quart-size, zip-top bag and freeze for several months. If frozen, allow the hummus to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve as a dip with pita or tortilla chips, crackers, crudité plate (carrots, celery, and radishes), and homemade naan, pita, or tortillas. Use as a spread on sandwiches or as a topping for tacos, enchiladas, or nachos.