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Black Bean Hummus with Vegetable Sticks

A smooth, smoky hummus made with black beans, tahini, lime and cumin, topped with pumpkin seeds and coriander and served with crunchy vegetable sticks. A vegan snack with 8g of fibre, ready in 10 minutes.

Snack

10

Serves 4

A bowl of dark black bean hummus topped with whole black beans, pumpkin seeds, coriander and olive oil, surrounded by carrot, cucumber, red and yellow pepper sticks, radishes and a lime wedge

Ingredients

  • 1 x 400g (14oz) tin black beans, drained and rinsed (about 240g/8½oz drained)
  • 2 tbsp (30g) tahini
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) lime juice (about 1 lime), plus ½ lime cut into wedges to serve
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 1 tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tsp to drizzle
  • 2 to 4 tbsp (30 to 60ml) cold water
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp (10g) pumpkin seeds and a few coriander (cilantro) leaves (about 5g), to top
  • To serve: 2 carrots (about 200g/7oz), ½ cucumber (about 150g/5oz), 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper (about 300g/10½oz in total), all cut into sticks, and 8 radishes (about 120g/4oz), halved

Method

  1. Set aside 1 tbsp of the whole black beans for the top. Put the rest in a food processor or blender with the tahini, lime juice, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and 2 tbsp of the cold water.
  2. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice, until smooth. Add more water, a spoonful at a time, until it is soft and creamy. Taste and add more lime juice or salt if needed.
  3. Spoon into a bowl, swirl the top with the back of a spoon and drizzle with the remaining oil. Scatter over the reserved beans, pumpkin seeds and coriander.
  4. Serve with the vegetable sticks, radishes and lime wedges. Keep any leftover hummus covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Why it works

A portion with the vegetable sticks gives you about 8g of protein and 8g of fibre for 223 calories, with 19g of carbohydrate.

Why black beans. Black beans give the hummus its dark colour and an earthy flavour, and like chickpeas they provide plant protein and fibre. Tahini, a paste of ground sesame seeds, makes it creamy, and lime and smoked paprika give it a Mexican twist.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. With 19g of carbohydrate per portion, much of it from the vegetables, and plenty of fibre, this snack has a gentle effect on blood sugar compared with crisps or crackers.

Lots of crunch, few calories. Peppers, cucumber, carrots and radishes are mostly water, so they fill the plate for few calories, and red and yellow peppers are rich in vitamin C.

Contains sesame (tahini). Free from gluten, milk, eggs, nuts, peanuts and soya as written. For a pink, sesame-based dip, try the beetroot and walnut hummus.