Lobio (Georgian Kidney Beans with Walnuts & Herbs)

Ingredients

For 4 portions

• 🫘 720g kidney beans, canned
• 🏺 3 Tbsp sunflower oil
• 🧅 2 medium onions
• 🧄 4 cloves garlic
• 🌰 70g walnuts
• 🌿 2 Tsp coriander powder
• 🌿 1 Tsp fenugreek
• 🌿 0.5 Tsp chilli flakes
• 🫑 1 Tsp paprika
• 🥤 250ml tap water
• 🍶 1.5 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 🧂 1 Tsp salt
• 🌿 25g fresh coriander
• 🌿 10g parsley

Method

1. Drain and rinse the kidney beans (3 cans), keeping a little of the liquid from one can.
2. Finely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Finely chop the coriander and parsley, stalks included.
3. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes until fragrant, then finely grind them in a food processor or mortar (or chop very finely). Pound or blitz the garlic into the walnuts with ½ tsp of the salt to make a rough paste.
4. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and cook the onions for 10–12 minutes until soft and golden.
5. Add the ground coriander, fenugreek, chilli flakes and paprika and stir for 1 minute.
6. Add the beans and the water. Simmer for 10 minutes, then mash about half the beans with a potato masher – lobio should be thick and chunky, not smooth.
7. Stir in the walnut-garlic paste, vinegar and remaining salt and simmer 3–4 minutes more. Add a splash more water or bean liquid if it's too thick.
8. Take off the heat and stir in most of the herbs. Taste: it should be savoury, herby and a little tangy – add more vinegar or salt if needed.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with the remaining herbs, with cornbread (mchadi) or crusty bread and pickled vegetables. In Georgia, the fenugreek is often blue fenugreek (utskho suneli) – use it if you can find it.