Black Bean Hummus (or, The Blogger Returns)

No, it's not baby food gone wrong or some form of excrement (ewwwww). I made black bean hummus today, with the overall aim of having it to take to school for lunch (more on that later...) It's a little different from normal chickpea hummus, and has cumin, paprika, and a bit of cayenne pepper in it for a little kick. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com with a few changes. My modified version of the recipe is below.

• 2 garlic cloves, diced fine
  
• 1 540mL can black beans, drained, plus 2 TB liquid*
• 1 1/2 TB tahini (sesame seed paste)
  
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• half a lemon

Mix all the ingredients together, with a couple squeezes of lemon juice. If you have power tools, this recipe works best when mixed up in a blender or food processor, but if not just go at it with a fork, although the end result will be chunkier than mine (I used a stick blender). Taste and adjust the seasoning or add more lemon juice.

Serve with pita bread, raw veggies, or crackers, or use it on sandwiches as a spread.

* I rinse canned beans to reduce the sodium content, but that's just a personal thing.