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Spicy, garlicky black bean hummus Hummus - Updated 3/30/2018

The recipe below is the original. On the last batch I found that I needed 2 tsp more lemon juice. Maybe there are differences in lemons that I did not previously realize. For heat, I took a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed them. I used 1 TBS of this to get a mellow heat with some smokiness. The rest of the puree went into a zip lock bag in the freezer.

14 oz can of black beans
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil for finishing
1/4 cup Tahini (I use Soom brand tahini)
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
2 TBS Tabasco brand Chipotle sauce (or any other hot sauce, or chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)

1. Peel garlic cloves and either crush them in a garlic press or mince them. Put the garlic in a small pan with 2 TBS olive oil. Cook on low heat, being careful not to brown it because it will taste bitter and lousy. If you get the garlic browned and burnt, admit defeat, cut your losses, and start over. You can add the cumin and salt but keep it separate from the garlic so you can tell if the garlic is starting to brown.

2. Drain the bans and reserve the juice

3. Check the garlic to make sure it isn't burning, then add the lemon juice. The pH will deactivate any active enzyme in the garlic and keep it from getting too pungent. It probably makes sense to let the lemon juice work for a minute or two.


4. Get out a small food processor, or blender, or even a handheld emersion blender. Add the Tahini, the garlic lemon mixture, Hot sauce and start blending. A full size food processor may be a little large for this recipe, but I have not tested it.

Blend for a couple of minutes.

5. Now add the drained beans.

5. With the processor running, add the reserved bean juice a little at a time to get the consistency you want. Stop and test consistency, lemon, salt, and heat level and adjust as needed.

6. Serve it with a drizzle of olive oil or as a base for something else.

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