Thursday, May 16, 2013

Easy Pinto Bean Hummus

No game day celebration, cocktail party, or even casual gathering with friends is complete without a snack, and I have to say, cheese and crackers aside, nothing quite beats hummus. It's perfect for us gluten-free folk, and equally as fabulous for vegetarians and vegans.

When I discovered a myriad of food sensitivities nearly two years ago, some made sense (Gluten. Oats. Dairy. Shrimp. CORN!). Others didn't, but after eating them again (Lentils. Chickpeas. Quinoa), I realized I couldn't fool my body.

So commenced a hummus dry spell in my life. Quite sad and unfortunate. Until I started experimenting with the two kinds of beans that didn't leave me doubled over in pain and my tummy frozen for days: Pinto Beans and Black Beans.

There are a number of ways of dressing up this blend. I kept it simple, with lots of garlic and ample seasoning, along with some cumin and cayenne for a kick. PERFECT with carrots, and awfully tasty with potato chips (hey, I can't do pita chips anymore) -- and fabulous with melted cheese on rice tortillas or in burritos.

For those of us allergic to chickpeas and sensitive to tahini, now you won't be deprived!

Easy Homemade Pinto Bean Hummus

12 ounces cups dried organic pinto beans (I used Laurel Hill's Heirloom beans) *preferred over canned
3 cloves garlic
Salt, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Paprika, to taste

Soak beans overnight. Rinse twice, agitating with hands each time. Cover beans with 2x their depth of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and beans can be smushed with a fork easily.

Blitz garlic and 1/2 cup of beans, and 1/4+ of cooking water, in Cuisinart (I had to do mine in batches as all I have is a mini-prep). Place in bowl. Repeat with more beans, water, and seasonings. Repeat until all beans have been blended. Check for seasonings, adding more cumin, salt, or cayenne as desired.

Serve warm with pita chips and/or carrots -- or save as a spread for lunches. The sky is the limit!

2 comments:

kenny at the ranch said...

have you tried it with just soaking the beans. all the hummus recipes i have seen dont cook the bean. seams like this is just flavored refried beans?

Anonymous said...

Kenny-Have you ever seen a raw garbanzo bean? It's like a rock! It's obvious you haven't cooked much as just soaking the beans will not soften them to the point where you can use them to make humus. Cooking, especially with the addition of a little salt towards the end makes them taste better. During the cooking process, the bean goes through a chemical change which alters the taste. I'm sure if you were given the choice between a raw bean and a cooked bean, you'd prefer the cooked one. If I don't use a pressure cooker, I always taste my beans as they are cooking so I can get an idea when they are done! Also, as to "just flavored refried beans,"unless you are re-purposing leftover refried beans, they don't necessarily need to be fried, but I don't think that's what the recipe said. Lastly, if you think about it, humus is mashed up beans spiced, so what's wrong with that?