History

Jota crosses the Slovenian-Italian Karst border and is found in both Friulian and Slovenian Istrian cuisine. The Slovenian version leans on the slow-cooked combination of fermented cabbage (sauerkraut), borlotti beans, potato and a smoked pork hock. It is the canonical winter peasant stew of the Karst plateau.

Make it at home

Yield Serves 6Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
  • 500g sauerkraut, drained
  • 300g potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 500g smoked pork hock or ribs
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

  1. Drain the beans. Cover with fresh water in a heavy pot, add the smoked pork. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer 1 hour.
  2. In a separate pan saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic. Stir in tomato paste, cook 2 minutes.
  3. Add onion mix, sauerkraut, potatoes and bay leaf to the beans. Top up with water if needed.
  4. Simmer 45 minutes until beans, potato and meat are tender.
  5. Lift out the pork, shred the meat off the bone, return to the pot. Season. Finish with parsley.

Tip from the editors. Drain the sauerkraut hard but do not rinse. The lactic acidity is the dish's backbone.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat jota

Jota in Ljubljana

Vodnikov Hram ★ 4.2

Slovenian traditional, grilled meats€€€€35-60vodnikov-trg

Vodnikov Hram in vaulted stone cellars on the market square plates Slovenian classics through the seasons: jota, kranjska klobasa and prekmurska gibanica.

Vodnikov trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana Book →

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