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AI-generated photograph: A small round terracotta clay pot full of thick, creamy red kidney bean stew topped with a heap of bright chopped coriander and parsley, set on a folded dark linen napkin, seen from directly above

Home · Recipes · Lobio, red kidney beans with herbs in a clay pot

Georgian · Dinner

Lobio, red kidney beans with herbs in a clay pot

red kidney beans · blue fenugreek · fresh herbs

AI-generated photograph

Lobio (beans) is the everyday Georgian supper: red kidney beans cooked soft with onion, garlic and warm spices, half of them crushed so the pot turns thick and creamy. It is finished with a splash of vinegar and a big handful of fresh herbs, and eaten with hot cornbread.

Contains: sulphur dioxide and sulphites, as written. Sulphites (red wine vinegar). Khmeli suneli is a blend: check the label, as some are packed where celery and mustard are handled. Tinned kidney beans, onions, garlic, spices and herbs contain none of the 14.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon utskho suneli (blue fenugreek, a mild, nutty Georgian spice; ground fenugreek works too)
  • 1 teaspoon khmeli suneli (a Georgian dried herb and spice blend)
  • Half a teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 3 tins red kidney beans (400g each), drained and rinsed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • A large bunch of fresh coriander (about 30g), chopped
  • A small bunch of flat leaf parsley (about 15g), chopped

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Let's cook

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, or a flameproof clay pot if you have one, on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and golden.
  2. Add the garlic, ground coriander, utskho suneli, khmeli suneli and chilli flakes and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
  3. Add the beans, the bay leaf, the salt and 400ml water. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
  4. Take out the bay leaf. Crush about half the beans against the side of the pan with a potato masher or the back of a spoon, so the pot turns thick and creamy but still has plenty of whole beans.
  5. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more until it is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.
  6. Stir in the vinegar and most of the coriander and parsley. Taste and add more salt or vinegar if you like. Scatter over the last of the herbs and serve hot, with cornbread.

Tips

  • Lobio keeps covered in the fridge for 3 days and tastes even better the next day. Reheat until piping hot, with a splash of water.
  • In Georgia it is often eaten warm with pickled vegetables on the side, which cut through the creamy beans.

Swaps

  • From dried: soak 350g dried kidney beans overnight, drain, then boil hard in fresh water for 10 minutes and simmer for about 1 hour until soft before step 3. Never use raw or undercooked kidney beans.
  • Richer, as in lobio nigvzit: stir in 50g finely ground walnuts with the vinegar (this adds tree nuts).

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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