Warm tortillas with toasted black beans & charred jalapeño hummus

I always, always have a mass of cartons and cans of pulses and beans in my store cupboard. In times of hurry, they are a saviour. Whether I am throwing together light, healthy impromptu salads studded with lentils, chickpeas or beans at the height of summer, or it is the depths of winter and I am making baked beans or refried beans with eggs and warm tortillas, I find pulses an essential part of my cooking repertoire. Here classic hummus is given a Mexican makeover, adding delicious, piquant heat. It makes a wonderful filling for the warm tortillas with the charred black beans and citrusy, sweet salad. FEEDS 4 FOR THE TORTILLAS 150g sweet cherry tomatoes ½ peeled garlic clove, crushed with a little salt small handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve small handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve ½ red chilli, finely chopped (optional) juice of 1-2 limes 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 x 400g can black beans, rinsed and drained 8 small corn tortillas, or 4 large tortillas, halved lime wedges, to serve FOR THE HUMMUS 1 jalapeño chilli and 1 pickled jalapeño 1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 garlic clove 1 tbsp tahini 60ml extra virgin olive oil juice of 1 lemon small bunch of coriander (leaves and stalks)

Prepare the tomato salsa first: finely chop the tomatoes and put into a mixing bowl with the garlic, herbs, chilli, if using, lime juice and oil. Season to taste, then set aside to marinate.

To make the hummus, put a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the jalapeño chilli. Char all over, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes until completely blackened. Leave to cool, then discard the stalk and seeds and transfer to a food processor or blender with the pickled jalapeño, chickpeas, garlic, tahini, oil, lemon juice and coriander. Blitz until coarse, then add 2-3 tbsp of cold water to loosen the dip, season to taste and blitz again until smooth.

Place a large nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Give the drained black beans a quick rub with kitchen paper to remove any excess water, then add to the hot pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the skins begin to split open and the beans crisp up. Season lightly, then transfer to a plate. Return the pan to the heat and warm up the tortillas, wrapping them in a tea towel to keep them warm (or you can warm a pile of them in the microwave, wrapped in clingfilm).

Put the hummus on the table and let everyone make their own tacos with the warm tortillas wrapped in a basket, toasted beans, hummus, tomato salsa and lime wedges. If you like, serve with Lancashire, feta or pecorino cheese to crumble over the top.