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Jota triestina
Jota: Trieste's smoky bean, sauerkraut and potato soup, made without pork
Jota is the soup of Trieste, the port city where Italian, Slovenian and Austrian cooking meet, and it is ladled out all winter in the city's old buffet restaurants and in the Karst villages behind it. Borlotti beans, potatoes and sour sauerkraut cook down into a thick, tangy soup that warms you through when the bora wind blows. The traditional version is cooked with pork ribs or rind; here smoked paprika, caraway and garlic give the smoky depth, so it is fully vegan. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; like most bean soups, jota tastes better reheated.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Drain 9 oz dried borlotti beans and put them in a large heavy pot with 8 ¼ cups water and 2 bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 60 minutes, until creamy inside.
60 minStep 2: Tip the beans and their liquid into a large bowl and wipe out the pot. Common mistake: cooking raw beans with the sauerkraut; its acid keeps the beans hard however long they simmer.
Step 3: Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in the pot over a medium heat and cook 1 onion for 6 minutes, until soft and golden. Add 3 cloves garlic and cook for 1 minute.
7 minStep 4: Add 1 ⅛ lb sauerkraut, 2 tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp caraway seeds and fry, stirring, for 8 minutes, until the cabbage is soft and smells toasty.
8 minStep 5: Return the beans and their liquid to the pot, add 14 oz potatoes and simmer, partly covered, for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender.
30 minStep 6: Scoop out 2 ladles of beans and potatoes, mash them to a paste and stir back in to thicken the soup.
Step 7: Season with 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, simmer 5 more minutes and remove the bay leaves. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 13 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jota triestina take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 105 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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