Lobio

Ingredients

• 14⅛ ozRed kidney beansdried, soaked overnight; alternatively about 2 drained cans
• 5¼ ozonionfinely diced
• 3 clovesgarlicfinely minced or pressed
• 2¾ ozwalnutsfinely ground or very finely chopped
• 1 bunchcilantrochopped, added at the end and for serving
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1 tspblue fenugreek
• 1½ tspkhmeli sunelispice blend, alternative to single spices (optional)
• 2bay leafsimmered with the beans
• 3 tbspvegetable oilolive or neutral oil, butter as alternative
• 2 tbspwine vinegarred wine or balsamic vinegar, to taste
• saltto taste
• black pepperto taste
• ½ tspchillifor heat (optional)
• 1 tbsptomato pastefor a tomato-based version (optional)
• ½ tspground marigold (optional)
• pomegranate seedsas garnish (optional)

Method

1. If you're using dried beans, soak the red kidney beans in plenty of cold water for several hours, ideally overnight, then drain and rinse them well. (With canned beans, skip steps 1 and 2 — just drain and rinse them, and use hot water later in place of the reserved cooking liquid.)
2. Put the beans in a pot with fresh water, salt and the bay leaves, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until completely tender, about 1 to 1.5 hours. Fish out the bay leaves and discard them, then drain the beans and keep the cooking liquid — you'll need it later.
3. Meanwhile, fry the finely diced onion in the oil over medium heat until golden, stirring now and then.
4. Add the ground coriander and blue fenugreek — or khmeli suneli in place of the two single spices — along with ground chili and dried marigold if you like, and toast them with the onion for barely a minute, until they smell fragrant.
5. Mash about a third to half of the drained beans with a fork or potato masher and leave the rest whole — that mix of creamy and chunky is what makes lobio lobio.
6. Stir the onion and spice mixture and the ground walnuts into the beans, adding the reserved cooking liquid bit by bit until the pot has a thick, saucy consistency.
7. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and loosening with more cooking liquid whenever it threatens to catch.
8. Finally, stir in the garlic, the chopped cilantro and the wine vinegar, and season generously with salt and black pepper.
9. Serve the lobio hot, traditionally in a clay pot, scattered with more cilantro and, if you have them, pomegranate seeds. Mchadi and pickles on the side.

Tips and variations

When you're in a hurry, canned beans do the job; for a tomato version, stir a spoonful of tomato paste into the sauce. You can also pound the spices, garlic and cilantro to a paste in a mortar and fold that in at the end — it gives the pot a lot more perfume. Leave out the walnuts and season more heavily with fenugreek and bay, fry the onions in butter instead of oil, or use a mix of red and white beans. For the cold salad version, mash the beans only roughly, go heavy on the vinegar, add cinnamon and clove, and garnish with parsley and pomegranate seeds. In an earthenware pot you can finish the lobio in the oven and bring it straight to the table in it — with warm mchadi and something pickled beside it.