Black Bean Hummus

I’ve got another one for you from my college cooking class in Oaxaca, back in 1999.

I pulled this recipe out last December for a little dinner party — one where I put all of my guests to work making tamales. When I ask people to cook with me, under the guise of having fun, I always make sure there are lots of snacks ready to go and good drinks to power us through as we work. I made Camarones a la Diabla, obscene amounts of guacamole, salsa Mexicana, and yes, this hummus served with sticks of jicama, sliced bell peppers, radishes halved, and tortilla chips for dipping.

And no, hummus is not Mexican food. I see you, food legalists, and I do recognize this. Just as with art, cultures, and languages, a recipe as we know it has usually evolved from something, and somewhere else. Don’t believe me? Go talk to an anthropologist. A quick google search will report that hummus originated in ancient Egypt, but the Greeks have a long history making it and that likely came from trading together.

I find it a bit poetic that I discovered hummus in southern Mexico before the internet was really even a thing when it came to food recipes.

It would still be years before I’d see hummus regularly on a menu or in a grocery store. Could be due to the fact that Colorado isn’t an epicenter for middle-eastern culture or cuisine.

So, back to that dinner party. I was looking through the notes I wrote based on all the recipes we cooked in my class that fall of 1999, and I rediscovered this recipe. I really had no memory of ever cooking it since the time I was studying there in Oaxaca, but I liked the idea of hummus with a Mexican twist and decided to serve it as an appetizer.

Let’s just say people liked it. A lot. One particularly patient friend has been gently reminding me for nine months now that he’d sure like the recipe when I have a moment. But before I share a recipe that is a one-hit-wonder, I like to make it at least a few more times to be sure it’s well tested and reliable. So, I continued to tweak it until I felt like it was just right.

Then a couple weeks ago, we were invited to an end-of-summer party, and I made a double batch of this hummus with the intent to finally get a photo of it and post the recipe (turns out, the joke was on me while I was rushing, because I had forgotten to put my SD card in the camera — got zero photos). At the party, another friend marched over and basically demanded to have the recipe by the following day to serve to his work colleagues that he was hosting for dinner. He had made me a delicious Old Fashioned by my request to kick off the evening, so I kinda owed him one and it forced me to finally write the recipe in full the next day with my final edits.

This past week, we had occasion to celebrate the 60th birthday of a beautiful soul and dear friend. A group of friends each contributed things for a Mediterranean themed dinner, and besides my Caprese with burrata, I brought this black bean hummus. AND I snapped a photo of it. Documented at last.

What makes this hummus special? Hard to say. Haha! I have heard lots of feedback from tasters, now that it has made its rounds at several parties. I hear that the garlic isn’t overpowering, that it’s not bland (high praise, indeed), that it’s addictive, and a lot of “what’s IN this?” All of that says to me, it’s just the right balance of good ingredients and seasonings, and honestly, don’t discount the really good olive oil.

Also to note, it’ll make you live longer. Everything in this is good for you. So go make it, and let’s get to living longer, eh?

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Black Bean Hummus

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Recipe adapted by Stephanie Kunstle from a cooking class by Chef Armando at La Universidad de Mesoamericana (Fall of 1999)

Note: this makes just over 2 cups of hummus — and it easily doubles for a big gathering. And as always, it will only taste as good as your ingredients so make sure they are high quality and fresh. It will stay delicious in your fridge for a week.

Ingredients: 

• 15 oz can black beans

• 15 oz can garbanzo beans

• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 5-ish Tbsp high quality olive oil (I use a nice finishing olive oil)

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

• 2-ish tsp kosher salt to taste (I use Morton Coarse Kosher Salt)

• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

• Garnish: more good olive oil and a small handful of chopped Italian parsley

Preparation:

1. Drain beans and garbanzo beans into a colander, and rinse well.

2. Add all ingredients (except parsley) to a food processor or Vitamix and blend until airy and completely smooth.

3. Scoop into a serving bowl, drizzle with good olive oil, and scatter with parsley. (If you make it ahead, just store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve it).

4. Serve with fresh veggies and pita chips or tortilla chips for dipping.