Lobios Chorba (Red Bean Soup)

Serves 4 to 6

2 quarts of water
1/2 pound of dried red kidney beans
1 bay leaf
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled, and finely chopped
2 leeks white part only, carefully cleaned and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small hot pepper, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs each of parsley, cilantro, and dill---all minced
1/3 cup of minced celery leaf
1 table spoon of red wine vinegar

Place the beans in a stockpot with water, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes; reduce the heat and simmer until beans are nearly tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, saute the onions, carrot, and leeks in butter in a skillet until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. In a mortar with a pestle, pound the garlic with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

When the beans are soft, add the sauteed vegetables, the pounded garlic , minced hot pepper, and black pepper (to taste). Simmer for 15 minutes more, until the beans are tender.

Stir in the minced herbs, celery leaf, vinegar --- and, serve.

Recipe from Darra Goldstein

If you have further information...
We have collected here quite a bit of information about Georgia, but we are looking for more. If you have information about this section that you think may be of interest to researchers, please send us the information using the Submission Form.