Italian Cities: Trieste - Jota (Istrian Stew)

 

This hearty meaty stew includes the somewhat unusual ingredient of sauerkraut and it's addition shows the influence of nearby countries Slovenia and Austria. In Trieste restaurants, the meat is removed after cooking to be used elsewhere but home cooks shred the meat after cooking and leave it in. I think I prefer the home cooked way for us!

Ingredients: 

1 can borlotti beans or kidney beans

1 smoked ham hock

500g pork ribs

2 bay leaves

4 rashers bacon, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 jar sauerkraut

3 medium potatoes

Salt & pepper

I'm making my Jota in a slow cooker so all I need to do is prepare the ingredients. Finely chop the bacon and garlic then mince them together with the flat of a large knife to make a kind of paste. Drain and rinse the sauerkraut. The ham and pork go in as they are and will be shredded later. The potatoes go in peeled and cut into quarters as they will be removed later for mashing. Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and top with enough boiling water to just cover everything. 

Put the lid on and cook on HIGH for 6 hours.

Remove the potato quarters to a bowl and mash them roughly then return them to the slow cooker.

Remove the pork and ham to the bowl, shred the meat and return it to the slow cooker.

Give everything a stir and season after tasting the stew.

JD and I really liked this stew. It was very satisfying with the beans and shredded meats. The broth was really tasty too and dunking bread in it was delicious! We both like sauerkraut but since it had been rinsed it didn't add much to the overall taste and a lot of it had disappeared during cooking which was a shame.  Still, a thoroughly enjoyable meal 👌