Vodnikov Hram ★ 4.2
Vodnikov Hram in vaulted stone cellars on the market square plates Slovenian classics through the seasons: jota, kranjska klobasa and prekmurska gibanica.
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
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
- Drain the beans. Cover with fresh water in a heavy pot, add the smoked pork. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer 1 hour.
- In a separate pan saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic. Stir in tomato paste, cook 2 minutes.
- Add onion mix, sauerkraut, potatoes and bay leaf to the beans. Top up with water if needed.
- Simmer 45 minutes until beans, potato and meat are tender.
- 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.
Where to eat jota
Jota in Ljubljana
Gostilna Sokol ★ 4.0
Sokol opened in 1870 next to the Town Hall and keeps a casual gostilna kitchen of sour cabbage, kranjska klobasa and mushroom soup in a bread cup.
Gostilna Sestica ★ 4.0
Sestica has been an inn on Slovenska cesta since 1776. The casual side runs game stews and homemade pasta in a less formal register than the dining room.
More cities are in research. Want jota covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.