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Hummus with Chipotle Black Beans and Tomato Salsa
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Family-owned Shlomo & Doron in Tel Aviv’s Yemenite Quarter is famous for its hummus, both classic and unconventional. The eatery’s Mexican-inspired hummus—complete with black-bean, salsa and tortilla chip toppings—inspired us to make our own version at home. For ease, we use canned chickpeas to make the hummus base, but first we simmer them with a little baking soda, which softens the legumes along with their skins so they break down into a perfectly smooth puree. Processing the chickpeas while warm for a full three minutes also helps achieve the finest, silkiest consistency. The hummus is topped with a black bean puree made subtly smoky and spicy by the addition of chipotle chili in adobo sauce, followed by a fresh tomato salsa and crushed tortilla chips for texture. Serve with warmed flatbread and, if you like, with additional tortilla chips.
4-6
Servings
Tip
Don’t forget to reserve some of the liquid from the chickpeas and black beans before draining. You’ll need 2 cups and 2 tablespoons, respectively. Also, don’t rinse the chickpeas and black beans after draining. The residual liquid gives the purees a smoother, silkier consistency.
45 minutes
3 15½-ounce cans chickpeas, 2 cups liquid reserved, drained
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
15½ ounce can black beans, 2 tablespoons liquid reserved, drained
8 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
½ cup tahini
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, finely chopped
½ small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 cups tortilla chips, roughly crushed
Ingredients
-
3
15½-ounce cans chickpeas, 2 cups liquid reserved, drained
-
¼
teaspoon baking soda
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
-
15½
ounce can black beans, 2 tablespoons liquid reserved, drained
-
8
tablespoons lime juice, divided
-
1
tablespoon ground cumin
-
1
chipotle chili in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
-
½
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
-
½
cup tahini
-
1
cup cherry or grape tomatoes, finely chopped
-
½
small red onion, finely chopped
-
1
jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded and minced
-
2
cups tortilla chips, roughly crushed
Directions
-
01In a large saucepan over high, combine the chickpeas and their 2 cups reserved liquid, the baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until very tender and the chickpea skins begin to fall off, 15 to 20 minutes.
-
02Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the black beans and their 2 tablespoons reserved liquid, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, the cumin, the chipotle chili and adobo sauce, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Process until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed, 20 to 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup of the cilantro and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine. Transfer to a medium bowl, then taste and season with salt and pepper; set aside. Wipe out the food processor.
-
03When the chickpeas are done, drain them in a colander set in a large bowl. Reserve ¾ cup of the chickpea cooking liquid; discard the remainder. Let the chickpeas drain for about 1 minute, shaking the colander to drain as much liquid as possible. Add the warm chickpeas to the processor along with ½ teaspoon salt. Process until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the tahini and continue to process until the mixture is lightened and very smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the processor bowl. With the machine running, add the reserved cooking liquid and 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of the remaining lime juice, then process until well combined, about 1 minute. Taste and season with salt.
-
04Transfer the hummus to a shallow serving bowl. Spread the black bean mixture on top in an even layer. Wipe out the bowl used for the black beans, then add to it the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice and ¼ teaspoon salt; stir to combine.
-
05Distribute the tortilla chips over the black-bean layer and spoon the tomato salsa on top. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup cilantro and serve immediately.
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Reviews
Hi David -
We did not test this recipe with dried beans but you could easily substitute. For the chickpeas, follow Step 1 from our Israeli Hummus recipe and then pick up the remainder of the recipe here using pre-cooked dried black beans (reserve 2 tablespoons of cooking liquid to add to the food processor). Good luck!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
The technique of boiling the chick peas for 20 minutes is wonderful! I've been making my own hummus for a couple of years now and haven't been able to get the chick peas to a point of smoothness that this technique achieves. This takes my own hummus to the next level! (Apparently if you have a $500+ to spend on popular blender, the smoothness will get you there.) The recipe makes a large portion but don't be afraid to freeze portions for later use. I'm the only one in my household who enjoys hummus as a staple, so cook once and freeze smaller portions for later. Thank you!!
I used all dry beans. A half cup dry soaked overnight yields a 15.5 oz can; so I soaked 1.5 cups dried and boiled them the next morning for 1.5 hours. Ditto the black beans, I used a half cup dried and boiled for 1.5 the next day. I got really good cooking liquid from them. I get the change up from Mediterranean to Mexican, but I missed the garlic. Next time would probably process a few cloves of garlic with both the chick peas and the black beans. Great dip for good tortilla chips.
Is the quantity of black beans in the ingredient list correct? (1 can?) The amount of black bean purée that the recipe makes relative to the amount of hummus does not seem balanced. (The flavors are magical, though! Love it!) I do agree with Scott P about the soggy chips; we’ve taken to just using the chips as dippers instead of their own layer.
Hi Andrew -
One can of black beans is the correct amount. The black bean puree and pico de gallo are meant to be a topping to the hummus as opposed to a "chickpea and black bean puree" in which case, you're right, we would want them to be more balanced. Hope that helps explain the recipe better!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
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Your First Issue
It would helpful to know how dried chickpeas and beans could be substituted for canned. Also canned beans are notorious for high sodium content. Any suggestions for substitutes for the canned liquid?