No Oil Black Bean Hummus and Avocado Mash Toast

So, technically, this is three recipes in one, but I'm only going to give you two here today - the (no oil) black bean hummus and avocado mash. You can hop on over to my easy wholewheat sandwich bread or sourdough bread tutorials for those longer, more involved recipes. This dish makes a great, light, super filing lunch to get you through those hot summer days and is so easy to throw together once it's all said and done.

Be sure to check the notes for an extra bit on the no-oil part of this recipe.

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Ingredients for the No Oil Black Bean Hummus

• 0.25 cup dry black beans, soaked overnight (or for at least 4 hours) and cooked (check out my Cooking 101 on beans)+

• Juice from half a lime (about 2 tsp)

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 cup fresh cilantro

• 0.75 tsp paprika

• 0.25 cup tahini

• 2.25 tsp cumin

• 6 tbsp aquafaba++

• Salt to taste

Ingredients for the Avocado Mash

• 0.5 avocado

• a few drops of your favorite hot sauce

• salt and pepper to date

Ingredients to make it a toast

• 2 slices of bread, toasted

• Pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions for the No Oil Black Bean Hummus

1. Place all of the ingredients up to the cumin in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times to get things mixed up.

2. Add in about half of the aquafaba and blend again for 30 seconds to a minute. At this point you should be able to tell if it's going to be too dry, so add in additional aquafaba 1 - 2 tsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency. You may end up wanting to add more than 6 tbsp if you like your hummus a bit on the runny side. If you run out of aquafaba, don't fret - water will work just fine. The aquafaba just offers a nice umami kick to complement the black beans.

3. Salt to taste, blending in pulses to make sure it's evenly distributed.

4. That's it! It's really that easy.

Instructions for the Avocado Mash

1. This one is even easier! Using a fork, mush up the avocado. I like to leave it in the skin and just mush it up in there to save myself some dishes.

2. Once you have a just north of smooth consistency, salt and pepper to taste and mix it around a bit.

3. Make a tiny well in the middle of the mash and add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce, and mix again.

4. Adjust salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

5. Boom. You're done.

Building the Toast

1. Y'all know how to make toast! Smear the hummus on one side of each piece of toast, and top with the avocado mash. Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes over the bread for a little extra kick, or top with whatever other herbs and spices you may want!

Notes

About no oil: I like to minimize the amount of oil I use in cooking, but I get that's not everybody's cup of tea. A lot of oils contain healthy fats and any fat definitely adds a great mouthfeel and unique depth to a dish. If you're not into this no-oil idea or you don't have any aquafaba on hand, don't feel bad. It's perfectly okay to go in with whatever oil you prefer. I'd recommend starting with just a tablespoon or two at first, and adding it as you go until reaching your desired consistency. The oil won't absorb into the mixture the same way that aquafaba does, and it's likely that 6 tbsp will be too much.

+ I definitely recommend using dry beans for this one. You can substitute with half a can of beans, for sure, but they're going to be much mushier and your hummus might suffer some gumminess from it.

++ What the heck is aquafaba? It's literally just bean water (but aquafaba sounds more palatable, ya know?), specifically from chickpeas. This stuff really is magical and is so useful and versatile in any vegan kitchen. You can use it as an egg replacement in baking and making things like whipped cream or meringue, and it also works as a pretty decent oil replacement in dishes such as this. I've heard tell that places like Whole Foods sell this stuff, but that's really not necessary. If you use canned chickpeas, just drain the water off and retain it instead of rinsing it down the sink, and if you're cooking from dry beans just save the water you cooked the chickpeas in. This stuff doesn't always keep in the fridge that well, but it freezes beautifully and is very quick to thaw.