Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Hummus With Chipotle Chile, Black Beans and Tomato Salsa.
Pretty funny. Right?
As it turns out, this international mix-up makes for a pretty wonderful appetizer. The smooth and flat-flavored hummus contrasts beautifully against the fiery black bean spread. The whole thing is cooled down by the fresh tomato salsa with lots of fresh lime juice. (You can, of course, tone the heat down to your taste. You also can serve the black bean spread as a stand-alone dish. It’s that good.)
The original recipe for this dish comes from Shlomo and Doron, a Tel Aviv Yemenite Restaurant. Talk about a melting pot of flavors and textures!
When you bring this to your next party, you can be pretty sure that you will be the only one bringing this delicious appetizer. You also can be pretty sure that you won’t be taking any leftovers home.
Hummus With Chipotle Chile Black Beans and Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- Three 15 1/2 cans chickpeas (drained with 2 cups liquid reserved)--I used an equivalent amount of Rancho Gordo chickpeas cooked in my Instant Pot
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- Kosher salt
- 3 C. water
- Ground black pepper
- One 15 1/2 ounce can black beans (drained with 2 T. liquid reserved)
- 8 T. lime juice (divided)
- 1 T. ground cumin
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from a can)
- 1 t. adobo sauce
- 1/2 C. finely chopped fresh cilantro (divided)
- 1/2 C. tahini (I used Soom brand--It was wonderful!)
- 1 C. cherry tomatoes (finely chopped or quartered)
- 1/2 small red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 jalapeño chile (stemmed, seeded and minced)
Directions
- Step 1 Put cooked chickpeas into a pan with 2 cups of their liquid, baking soda, 1 t. salt and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. You want the chickpeas to be very soft and you want the skins to begin to fall off the chickpeas.
- Step 2 While the chickpeas are cooking, put the black beans into a food processor along with 2 T. of their reserved liquid, 2 T. lime juice, cumin, chipotle chile and adobo sauce, 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. (You can adjust the amount of chipotle chile and adobo sauce to your heat tolerance.)Process these ingredients until you have a smooth mixture. Scrape down the bowl a couple of times while you are blending the mixture. Add 1/4 C. cilantro and pulse a couple of times to incorporate the cilantro into the black bean mixture. Scoop this mixture out of the food processor bowl into a medium bowl and add salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Step 3 When the chickpeas are soft and their skins begin to fall off, pour them into a colander that you have set in a large bowl. Drain and reserve 3/4 cup of the liquid and discard the rest.
- Step 4 Clean the food processor bowl that you used to puree the black beans. Add the cooked chickpeas to the bowl and process the chickpeas until they are completely smooth. This will take several minutes. Add the tahini to the chickpea puree and process for about one more minute until you have a very smooth mixture. With the processor running, add the reserved 3/4 C. cooking liquid and 4 T. of the remaining lime juice. Process for about 1 minute until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is very smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Step 5 Combine the (chopped or quartered) cherry tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, remaining 2 T. lime juice and 1/2 t. salt in a bowl to make the salsa. Adjust the amount of jalapeno to your taste. Add more fresh lime juice to your taste. Set aside.
- Step 6 Spread the hummus on your serving plate. Spread the black bean spread on top of the hummus. Spoon the tomato salsa on top of the hummus and black bean layers. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or pita (or both!).
