About Food – Lobio with Summer Savory and Ajika with Walnuts
The Georgian word ‘lobio’ (Georgian: ლობიო) means ‘beans’ and there are a number of varieties of lobio dishes. In this family recipe we show how to make a spicy lobio dish made with summer savory and ajika with walnuts.
Ingredients: 500 grams of kidney beans, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of dried summer savory, 1 tsp of dried coriander, 2 large white onions, 50 grams of fresh parsley, 100 grams of butter, 1 tbs of dried hot red pepper, 2 bay leaves, salt (amount dependent upon personal preference), 4 tbs of oil, 1 heaped tbs of ajika (see note below regarding ajika).
Ajika (Georgian: აჯიკა) is a hot, spicy paste used to flavor meat and fish dishes mainly in Samegrelo and Abkhazia. It is made with hot red peppers, garlic, herbs and spices. In appearance and consistency ajika resembles Italian red pesto. There are several types of ajika. In this recipe we used ajika made with walnuts. Click here for a step-by-step photo recipe.
Preparation: Soak the beans in a deep cooking pot of cold water for two hours prior to cooking. Drain water and add the bay leaves and up to 2 liters of fresh water. Cook on a medium heat until the beans are tender.
Drain the water from the cooked kidney beans and transfer them to a mixing bowl but keep 300 milliliters in a separate jug to use later. Add the butter and salt (amount dependent upon personal preference) to the cooked beans.
Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash the beans, butter and salt together.
Chop and fry the onions in 4 tbs of oil.
Add the fried onions, together with the ajika and hot red pepper to the lobio and mash thoroughly.
Add the 300 milliliters of bean water that was saved when draining the beans and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Crush the garlic and finely chop the parsley and add to the lobio, together with the summer savoury and dried coriander. Mix thoroughly.
Transfer the lobio to a pot and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes. We baked ours in individual clay pots in the oven.
Serving: Serve hot.
We served ours in individual clay pots with the traditional accompaniment, Mchadi (Georgian Cornbread). For a step-by-step guide to making Mchadi see this article.
Enjoy your Lobio with Summer Savory and Ajika!
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