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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Vegan MoFo Day 5 - Tidy-up Thursdays - Black Bean Dip for Taco Pizzas


Does anyone else have black bean flour in their pantry? I picked up a bag on a whim a couple of years ago and it's been collecting dust ever since. There was absolutely no reason for this impulse purchase (apart from the fact that I love black beans) as I had never seen it used in a recipe before. I've spotted the black bean flour during minor pantry clean ups and sighed about it's presence without giving much thought as to what I would ever do with the darn stuff.

When I decided to incorporate Tidy-up Thursdays into my weekly Vegan MoFo themes, black bean flour was the first ingredient that sprang to mind. After I dug it out of the pantry and inspected the packet I was excited to find a few recipes printed on the back - one of which was for black bean taco pizza and another for the bean dip to spread on the pizzas. Black bean taco pizzas were not a new concept as the delightful Cadry from Cadry's Kitchen introduced me to this wonderful concoction last year which have since become one of our favourite styles of pizzas to make at home - I posted about my love for them last year too.


My usual method of making a black bean taco pizza involves cooking up a batch of spicy black beans which are half mashed and mixed with some napoli sauce to spread on the base of the pizza. This time was a little different as I used the black bean flour to create an adaptation of the bean dip recipe on the flour packet. This had a nice smooth texture and was more ideal for spreading on a pizza base even though it didn't look very appetising. The main thing that concerned me whilst making up the bean dip was the extremely strong earthy flavour from the bean flour so I added more seasonings to try to tone the earthiness. The man really loves his black bean taco pizza and gets annoyed when I mess with meals that he adores so I was certain he wasn't going to be impressed with this version. This is a snippet of our conversation while I was assembling the pizza...

The Man: "You don't normally put refried beans on the taco pizza, do you?"

Me: "They aren't refried beans but this isn't what I usually do either. I'm trying something different for Vegan MoFo."

The Man: Goes into a bit of a rant involving some minor expletives about Vegan MoFo and how I shouldn't mess with perfection.

Me: Sigh!


Thankfully the bean dip on the pizza didn't spoil the experience and there were plenty of other flavours in the toppings to further tone down the flavour of the bean flour. After the bean dip was spread on the pizza base it was layered with minced garlic, sliced red onions, mushroom, red capsicum/bell pepper, olives, crumbled plain corn chips and cheezly. We always top our cooked slices with some hot sauce for extra kick too.


Only 3/4 cup of flour was used to create the bean dip of which I only used half to spread on a large pizza base. The remaining portion of the bean dip was successfully hidden in a big pot of chilli. There is still a heap of the flour remaining so I would love to know if anyone has used it before and can point me in the direction of some other recipes that use black bean flour.



Black Bean Dip (Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Black Bean Flour packet)

¾ cup black bean flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups hot water
1/3 cup salsa (I used a Fonterra tomatillo salsa purchased from USA Foods)
½ batch Napoli sauce

Place the black bean flour, salt, chipotle chilli powder, cumin and cayenne pepper in a saucepan and slowly add the water, whisking constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and stir through the salsa and napoli sauce. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, the mixture will thicken further as it cools down.

30 comments:

  1. I've never even heard of black bean flour let alone used it! I love this theme, one year for MoFo I should do it too because I have so much random stuff hidden in my cupboards!

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    1. Thanks Jojo, this is probably the most obscure ingredient that has been tucked away in the pantry. I did contemplate doing this theme for the whole month as I have so much stuff I would love to clear out.

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  2. Great idea for using it up. I've just bought some vegan parmesan cheese and now wish I had bought the mozzarella. I don't have black bean flour but have enough of those sort of flours about. Is it something you could put into brownies - I know that black bean brownies are quite popular so that would make sense to use the flour

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    1. Thanks Johanna, the recipe on the packet gave me all the inspiration I needed! I'll be interested to know how you find the vegan parmesan as I haven't tried it out yet. I had wondered about making brownies but the recipes I've seen use the actual beans rather than flour - could be worth a try though!

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  3. It makes me so happy that taco pizza makes a regular appearance in your home in Australia! It makes the world feel so small and sweet! :)

    Your husband's reaction to the black bean mixture on the bottom of the pizza made me laugh. I have the same kind of reaction whenever David makes my favorite chocolate chip cookies. He likes to switch things up when he cooks, not really following recipes, but instead using them as suggestions. He'll add different kinds of oil, throw in nuts, and what have you. I know I shouldn't complain; after all, there is someone in my home baking cookies. However, when it comes to things I love, I don't want it tampered with too much. :)

    Good luck finding a way to use the rest of the black bean flour!

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    1. Thanks Cadry, I think it's such a great pizza concept and really needs to go global! That's funny about David being the tinkerer as I thought it would be you - it's great that he likes to get his hands dirty in the kitchen. I can get away with my modifications more often than not if I do them on the sly...

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  4. That looks delicious. I had seen that flour and wasn't sure how people used it. Thanks for the idea.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by bitt. There are probably a heap of GF recipes about that use black bean flour too but this pizza was definitely a good introduction.

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  5. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i LOVE refried beans on pizza - well any beans on pizza really! :-)
    I am going to look out for black bean flour now because i would love to experiment with it! i reckon it would be great in brownies and cakes :-) there i go thinking about sweet baked goods again ;-) hahaha
    Lets hope my bag doesn't sit in the pantry for a few years first tho!!!
    I really love the idea of you clearing out your pantry - so great!

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    1. Thanks Sandy, Mexican pizzas are pretty awesome! I bought my flour from a health food store so that would be your best bet for tracking it down. I'll definitely give it a try in something sweet next. Not sure how much of the pantry I will clear in these 4 posts but at least it's a start. :)

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  6. Okay this made me laugh because black bean flour is one of those things I've never heard of but I would buy it if I saw it and it would sit in my pantry for years.

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    1. Thanks veganopoulous, good to know I'm not the only impulse buyer although I have been a bit more restrained recently!

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  7. My flour equivalent for a long time was besan / chickpea...ad then I discovered all sorts of uses and wish I had it in my pantry now (I keep forgetting to restock)! Instead, I have a bag of coconut flour that is in my fridge because it's been around for so long I'm worried about it keeping. Sometimes these impulse buys just need to be indulged whatever the consequences :-)

    Fortunately, in this case I'd say you found a winning way to use it up even if it did lead to short-term kitchen tension around messing with perfection!

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    1. Thanks Kari, besan is something I never run out of as I use it so frequently. Your coconut flour sounds like my black bean flour, it will go on forever! The tension was short lived thankfully ;)

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  8. I also have black bean flour, though it lurks in my freezer. I use it to make savoury pancakes from time to time. I intend to one day try making black bean brownies with it - maybe that will work?

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    1. Thanks for the tip about savoury pancakes Eat to Live! I haven't made pancakes in such a long time so I'll try some out with the flour soon.

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  9. Taco pizza is a thing? I have SO MANY black beans to use up! I'm totally making this for complicated dinner tomorrow night.
    I also love buying exotic ingredients. My cupboard is testament to that...

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    1. Yes Amy, I believe taco pizza is a thing in some states of the US (Mid West region perhaps?). Hope you enjoy your taco pizza, it's a great way to use up some of your black beans! ;)

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  10. WOW! Awesome! Great ideas! I'm also a Vegan MoFo Participant - mind if I link you and visit/comment often!? Swing by and let me know :)

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    1. Hi Jennifer, thanks for stopping by. You have quite a few blogs listed on your profile page and I'm not sure which one is signed up to MoFo. Let me know which one it is and I'll swing by soon!

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  11. Black bean flour sure isn't something I have kicking around in my pantry, I didn't even know it existed! Never thought of putting black bean spread on pizza, love the idea of a taco pizza! The man doesn't know what he's talking about :p

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    1. Thanks Maggie Muffins, taco pizzas are fantastic! The man loves these pizzas so much that he was worried about my modification this time around. I think he was talking from experience as my tinkering doesn't always work out well. ;)

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  12. I have never used black bean flour. I have made and used white bean flour many times, but who ever thought you could buy bean flour. Wow,,, and on pizza! Brilliant!!!

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    1. Thanks Sheree, chickpea flour is a type of bean flour that is used by vegans a fair bit but I haven't really seen black bean flour recipes around either. It did work wonderfully on the pizza!

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  13. Black bean flour? So weird! I'm glad you figured out a good way to use it, I would have been stumped!

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    1. Thanks Jes, I was glad to find a good way to use it too!

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  14. I knew this would be my favourite part of your mofo and I wasn't disappointed! Black bean flour? never heard of it! But black beans on a pizza I can get behind that!

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    1. Thanks Joey, I hope the rest of these posts don't disappoint! Black beans with corn chips on pizza are a fantastic combination.

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  15. Pizza and tacos -- two of my favorites! Looks great!
    PS. Black bean flour? Never heard of it before!

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    1. Thanks Bobbie, pizza and tacos are two of my favourites as well which is why I was so excited to discover these pizzas through Cadry.

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