Pork Shoulder and Bean Soup
One of the most recognizable soups in Italy’s Fruili region, Jota is a pork shoulder and white bean soup that’s mostly found in an area near Trieste, and is garnished with a riff on sauerkraut.
It’s a perfect rustic soup for the wintertime, if you’re not feeling well, or any excuse you can think of to eat this hearty soup.
Jota Triestina (Pork shoulder and bean soup)
Servings: 4 to 6
1 pound of pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 pound of pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 1/3 cups of dry white beans, soaked in water overnight (see note)
6 cups of water
Brovada (recipe follows), for serving
Note: Classic versions of this soup use Marcella beans, a white, thick-skinned bean named after Italian cook Marcella Hazan. However, Marcella beans are quite hard to find outside of Northern Italy, so any dried white bean like cannellini will work well.
Also, if you don’t have time to soak the beans in water overnight, then a 2-hour soak will do, as long as the beans soak long enough to bulk up and double in size.
You can also make your life even easier by using 2 cans of cannellini beans, but you’ll want to drain and rinse them.
Generously seasoned the cubed pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
Heat a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with the olive oil, then, line the bottom of the pot with a single layer of pork cubes and cook until browned on all sides, you’ll want to do this in batches.
Remove the pork to a plate then set aside.
In the same pot, add the pancetta and cook over medium-low until brown and crisp.
(Thicker cubes of pancetta are ideal for this soup as you want thick lardons to add texture to the soup, but if the smaller cubes of pancetta are all that you can find, then that’s fine too.)
Once the pancetta is browned, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the garlic starts to brown.
Add the carrot, onion, and celery and cook, stirring often, until the veggies start to brown.
We likely know this vegetable trio as the French mirepoix.
Return the pork shoulder to the pot, then drain the beans and add them in along with the water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork and beans are tender.
Divide the soup among bowls, top with the brovada, and serve!
A wonderfully hearty pork and bean soup that will warm you up from the inside and get you feeling good!
Brovada
(Fruilian version of sauerkraut, but is much quicker and easier to make, and focuses on turnips vs cabbage)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 cups of peeled and cubed turnips
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of red wine
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat, then add the garlic and shallots and cook until they begin to soften.
Add the turnips and salt, then cover and sweat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the turnips start to soften.
Add the red wine, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by half and the alcohol has evaporated.
Add the vinegar then cook for another 10 minutes, or until the turnips are very soft. Stored in an airtight container, this brovada will keep for up to a week.
I know they somewhat look like cubes of ham, but believe me, they’re turnips.
