Georgian
Lobio
Georgian red kidney beans with onion, walnuts, cilantro, blue fenugreek, savory, and vinegar.
6 servings · 25 minutes prep · 120 minutes cook
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried dark red kidney beans, picked over and rinsed
- 8 cups water, plus more as needed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
- 3 tablespoons sunflower or avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon blue fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon dried summer savory
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup walnut halves, finely ground
- 1 cup chopped cilantro, divided
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
- 2 cups reserved bean cooking liquid, as needed, reserved, as needed
- 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds, for serving
Directions
Cook and Mash the Beans
- Cover the beans with plenty of cool water and soak for 12 hours. Drain, place in a heavy pot with the 8 cups fresh water and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Skim the foam, partially cover, and simmer gently for 75 to 105 minutes, until the beans are completely tender and creamy inside. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt during the final 20 minutes.
- Reserve 2 cups bean cooking liquid, then drain the beans and discard the bay leaves. Return two-thirds of the beans to the pot and crush them coarsely with a potato masher. Fold in the remaining whole beans.
Build and Combine the Seasoning
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low. Cook the onion with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt for 10 to 12 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic, coriander, blue fenugreek, savory, red pepper, and black pepper and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir the onion mixture, the ground walnuts, half the cilantro, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, and 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid into the beans. Simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often and adding more bean liquid as needed. The lobio should be thick and spoonable but slightly looser than the desired final texture because it firms as it cools.
Rest and Finish
- Rest off the heat for 15 minutes. Fold in the remaining cilantro, then adjust with salt, additional red wine vinegar, red pepper, and reserved bean liquid as needed. Spoon into warm bowls or a clay pot and scatter with pomegranate seeds.
