Menu
Pizza Burger Salad Cake Cocktail

Granny Zen Galaxy Kitchen 🚀

Explore recipes from another dimension ✨

Jota 🍲 Primorska Kraut–Bean 🇸🇮 (Istrian Jota)

5.0 / 5 0
Soups and Stews Balkan Oct 11, 2025 30
Site avg: 4.5 / 5 Total votes: 11

Description

Smoky-sour sauerkraut, tender beans, and potatoes in a cozy, brick-tinted broth—hearty Slovenian mountain comfort. 🥾🔥

Hook: Soak, simmer, mash a few potatoes—silky, soul-warming soup without flour. ⚡

Ingredients

  • 🫘 Dry white beans (or cooked; see note): 300 g (1½ cups / 10.6 oz) or cooked *600 g (4 cups / 21 oz)
  • 🥬 Sauerkraut, rinsed & well-squeezed: 600 g (4 cups / 21 oz)
  • 🥔 Waxy potatoes, 2–3 cm chunks: 450 g (3 cups / 15.9 oz)
  • 🧅 Onion, finely chopped: 150 g (1 cup / 5.3 oz)
  • 🧄 Garlic, minced: 6 g (2 cloves / 0.2 oz)
  • 🥓 Smoked pancetta/speck, small cubes (optional): 150 g (5.3 oz)
  • 🫒 Olive oil or lard: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
  • 🌿 Bay leaf: 1
  • 🌰 Caraway seeds (classic): 2 g (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
  • 🌶️ Sweet paprika (optional, for color): 4 g (1½ tsp / 0.14 oz)
  • 💧 Water or light stock: 1.2–1.5 l (5–6 cups)
  • 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈10 g / 1¾ tsp)
  • ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)

Preparation

  • 1️⃣ Beans: Soak 🫘 dry beans overnight; drain. Cover with fresh water and simmer 45–60 min until tender; drain. (Skip if using cooked.)
  • 2️⃣ Base: Warm 🫒 fat in a pot. Sauté 🧅 onion 6–8 min until sweet; add 🧄 30 sec. Stir in 🥓 pancetta (if using) 3–4 min to render lightly.
  • 3️⃣ Build: Add 🥬 sauerkraut, 🥔 potatoes, cooked 🫘 beans, 🌿 bay, 🌰 caraway, and 🌶️ paprika (if using). Pour in 💧 water/stock to cover by ~2–3 cm.
  • 4️⃣ Simmer: Season with a pinch of 🧂 and ⚫. Cook gently 25–30 min until potatoes are soft and flavors meld.
  • 5️⃣ Thicken naturally: Mash a ladleful of potatoes/beans against the pot and stir back in for body. Adjust 🧂 and ⚫ to taste. Rest 5 min and serve.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 15 min (+ overnight soak if using dry beans)
🔥 Cook: 45–60 min (dry beans) + 30 min soup (or ~35 min with cooked beans)
⏳ Total: 1 h 30 min (~50 min with cooked beans)

Nutritional Value

🔋 Energy: ~330 kcal
💪 Protein: ~15 g
🧈 Fat: ~12 g
🍞 Carbohydrates: ~42 g
🧂 Sodium: ~860 mg

Advice

Rinse and squeeze the sauerkraut very well—you control the sourness. Mashing a few potatoes thickens the broth without a roux.

Why it works

Caraway + bay echo the kraut’s aromatics; potato starch naturally emulsifies with rendered fat for a silky spoon-coating body; a brief rest rounds the acidity.

Twist

Lenten/vegan: skip pancetta and use all olive oil; add 1 tbsp smoked paprika for depth. Istrian touch: finish with a thread of good olive oil and a grind of pepper.

Status

Alpine rustic, kraut-silky—Slovenian jota that tastes like a warm chalet. #grannyzen #sloveniansoup 🍲🇸🇮

Share & Print

Rate & react

5.0 / 5 0 votes
One submission per 24h.

Comments

Be kind. Spam is blocked.