Name: Lobio (Georgian Spiced Kidney Beans)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Georgia
Ingredients: 450 g dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight; 1 bay leaf; 40 g sunflower or neutral oil; 2 medium onions, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 60 g walnuts, finely ground; 1½ tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp blue fenugreek (utskho suneli) or ground fenugreek; ½ tsp dried savory or thyme; ½–1 tsp chili flakes; 9 g table salt, plus more to taste; 30 g red wine vinegar; 1 large handful cilantro, chopped; a few sprigs each of parsley, dill and basil, chopped; pickled vegetables and cornbread or flatbread, to serve

Method

Cook the beans. Drain the dried red kidney beans (450 g1 lb), cover with fresh water by 2 inches (5 cm), add the bay leaf (1) and boil hard for 10 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer until completely soft, 1 to 1½ hours. Keep about 2 cups of the cooking liquid when you drain them.
Onions. Meanwhile, cook the onions (2) in the oil over medium heat until soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
Combine. Add the beans and about 1 cup of their liquid to the onions. Mash roughly with a potato masher, leaving plenty of beans whole.
Season. Stir in the garlic cloves (4), walnuts (60 g½ cup), ground coriander (1½ tsp), blue fenugreek (1 tsp), dried savory (½ tsp), chili flakes (½–1 tsp) and table salt (9 g1½ tsp) and simmer 10 minutes, adding more bean liquid if it gets too thick. It should be loose and creamy.
Off the heat, stir in the red wine vinegar (30 g2 tbsp) and most of the herbs. Taste for salt.
Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with the rest of the herbs, with pickles and bread.

Notes

In Georgia it's often cooked and served in a clay pot (kotani).
Pressure cooker. Cook soaked beans 20 to 25 minutes at high pressure with a natural release.
It's better the next day, once the spices settle in.