Lobio Recipe {Georgian Red Bean Stew}

This Lobio recipe is one of the most popular and delicious dishes of Georgian cuisine. Best when made with dry beans, but canned beans are always an option when in a hurry. This recipe is vegan, very easy to make and loaded with healthy ingredient and incredible aroma.  

Georgian Lobio

For a very long time I was hesitant to post this Lobio recipe because every food photographer would agree - beans are not the prettiest thing to take pictures of. 

But now that beans are number 1 item in everyone's pantry, I decided that the timing couldn't be perfect for sharing this simple yet A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Georgian Red Bean Stew.

What is Lobio?

If you've ever had a chance to try recipes of Georgian cuisine, like Khachapuri, Satsivi or Shashlik, you know that they are always pungent and delicious. 

Lobio is one of those recipes that highlights the simplicity yet uniqueness of the Georgian cooking. 

Traditionally, Lobio was prepared using Dolichos, a type of legumes. After regular beans have become wildly popular in cooking, they replaced Dolichos and most Lobio recipes are now prepared with either red/white beans or green beans.

The basic recipe envisions soaking dry beans overnight and then cooking them in water until they're soft and fully cooked. 

The most essential additions to Lobio are sautéed onion and herbs such as cilantro. Skinned tomatoes, garlic and walnuts are also one of the most added ingredients.

How to eat Lobio?

Lobio can be served warm or cold. You can also sprinkle it with marinated onions and/or pomegranate seeds.

In Georgia, Lobio is served alongside a traditional Georgian bread Shotis Puri. Its shape resembles Khachapuri but it doesn't have the latter's distinctive cheese filling.

Ingredients

The main 2 ingredients in Lobio are beans and walnuts. When in comes to beans, you can use any variety that you have. In Georgia, Red Kidney beans are used most often.

I also found that the combination of Kidney beans and Great Northern Beans makes a wonderful Lobio. 

Other ingredients in this recipe are:

• olive oil - if you follow no oil plant-based diet, you can use veggie broth or water
• onion - makes a base for the stew
• beans - use Kidney beans or in combination with other beans that you have on hands. Dry beans are preferred but you can use canned beans as well
• walnuts - these are superfoods that supply us with important Omega-3 fatty acids  
• Hmeli-Suneli is one of the best spices in Caucasian recipes. You can always find Hmeli-Suneli on Amazon, in European grocery stores in your area or you can make it yourself. See the instructions below
• cilantro - provides with additional flavor and is also believed to pull heavy metals out of the body
• garlic - always a "must" in Caucasian cuisines
• tomato juice is used for thinning out the sauce, but bean cooking liquid can be used as well
• Cayenne pepper - for an extra kick, but this ingredient is optional
• Balsamic vinegar

How to make Georgian Red Bean Stew

• Soak and cook the beans - add beans to a large bowl, fill it with water and soak the beans for at least 10 hours or overnight. Then, rinse them a few times and cook on a medium heat for about 1 or 2 hours. One hour into the cooking remove 3 beans from the pot and taste them. If all of them are soft - beans are ready; If you use canned beans, move on to the next step.
• Mash the beans - drain cooked beans and reserve all cooking liquid. Using a potato masher, mash half of the beans. If you're using canned beans, drain them, reserve the liquid and mash half of the beans.
• Chop the walnuts - I like using food processor. Simply pulse the walnuts until they are a size of a buckwheat seed. If you don't have a food processor, you can chop the walnuts by hand or add them to a plastic bag, seal it and pound with a rollin pin.
• Sauté the onion - you need to sauté it for about 7 to 10 minutes until it's very soft and starts to brown. Add mashed beans, spices, walnuts and necessary liquid and simmer for 5 minutes. Finish off by adding garlic and cilantro and cooking for another 30 seconds.

How to make Hmeli-Suneli at home?

Hmeli-Suneli can easily be made at home. Simple combine the following spices:

• 2 tbsp dill weed
• 2 tbsp marjoram
• 2 tbsp basil
• 2 tbsp coriander
• a tiny pinch of Cayenne pepper
• a tiny pinch of saffron

Storing and freezing

Lobio will keep well for 4 days in the refrigerator.

It freezes great as well. Just let it cool before freezing and transfer Lobio to a freezer-safe container. Lobio will keep well for 2-3 months in a freezer.  

You can thaw it in the fridge overnight or under cold water in the sink. To reheat, simply add thawed Lobio into a cooking pot and simmer for 5 minutes. If it gets too dry, add a bit of olive oil or water. 

Recipe