An accidental pizza alternative

I really don't like gluten-free, vegan pizza. Too many replacements, too much fake food. I'm a food snob and it just doesn't work for me. So I figured I was just going to have to face the loss of pizza like a big girl--and I do, but I happily happened upon a recipe the other day that will satiate my cravings, should they ever appear. And in a very non-pizza incarnation.

Spicy Black Bean and Olive hummus! Stay with me, here. When I ate meat, my very favorite pizza was pepperoni and black olive. All the saltiness and spiciness and tangy-ness that you could ever want out of a pizza. I loved this dip as soon as I laid eyes on the recipe, but connecting it to pizza? That didn't happen right away.

The recipe (from Color Me Vegan, with my alterations noted)

Stealing other people's awesome food photos because I'm lazy...mmmm, cilantro would be so good with this too!

Spicy Black Bean and Olive "Hummus"

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
10 black olives, pitted (I did 14 because I'm an olive freak. :)
1 small jalapeno pepper (the key to my discovery! By happy accident, I could not find a fresh jalapeno, so out of hunger and frustration I grabbed a jar of whole pickled jalapenos and headed home.)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp lemon juice (I only needed 1, I think because of the effect of the vinegar in the jalapeno)
1 1/2 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt (you can omit this if your beans came salted; I probably should have!)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I did a bit more; didn't measure though.)
Paprika or chili powder, for garnish (I didn't bother.)

Put everything in the food processor and blend until smooth! Add more lemon juice, salt, and garlic to taste.

I put the finished product on lentil chips, and today when I was eating leftovers for lunch, I topped each chip with a black olive. That was when it hit me that the taste of this salty treat was exactly what I loved about pepperoni and black olive pizza! And the heavens opened up and the angels sang.

The lentil chips I use

Now, if you want to tone down the salt (or spice, if making for kids), it's easy to do--use a fresh jalapeno instead of a pickled one and take out all or some of the seeds. I bet it's still delish--and note that it packs quite a bit of protein. Give it a try!

P.S. A word of warning--this dip does kind of give you dragon breath. So eat it as a family and chew gum when in public after eating! :)