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Bowl of Friuli jota soup with borlotti beans, sauerkraut, shredded pork, and potato in thick amber broth

Friuli Jota Soup: Sauerkraut, Bean, and Smoked Pork Stew from Northeast Italy

A slow-cooked Friulian stew of borlotti beans, sauerkraut, smoked pork hock, and potato, seasoned with garlic and cumin. Thick, tart, and built for cold weather.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 390
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beans and pork
  • 300 g dried borlotti beans soaked overnight and drained
  • 1 (approx. 600 g) smoked pork hock
  • 2 liters cold water for cooking the hock and beans
Soup base
  • 400 g sauerkraut lightly rinsed, roughly chopped if strands are long
  • 300 g starchy potato peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tbsp lard or olive oil
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds or 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly cracked
  • to taste fine salt add at the end, smoked pork is already salty
To finish
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for drizzling at the table
  • small handful flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped, optional

Method
 

Cook the beans and pork hock
  1. Drain the soaked borlotti beans and place them in a large pot with the smoked pork hock. Cover with 2 liters of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat.
  2. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface in the first 5 minutes. Reduce heat to a low simmer, partially cover, and cook for 60 to 80 minutes until beans are fully tender but still holding their shape.
  3. Lift the hock out onto a board. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone in chunks and discard the skin and bone. Set the meat aside. Reserve the cooking liquid.
Build the soup
  1. In a separate large pot or Dutch oven, heat the lard or olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and pale golden.
  2. Add the garlic and caraway seeds. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
  3. Add the sauerkraut to the pot. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until it starts to lose its raw edge and takes on a little color at the bottom of the pot.
  4. Add the cooked beans, shredded pork meat, potato cubes, bay leaves, and black pepper. Pour in the reserved bean and pork cooking liquid. Add water if needed to cover everything by at least 3 cm.
  5. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes until the potato is soft and beginning to break down at the edges.
Finish and serve
  1. Remove the bay leaves. Use the back of a spoon to crush several potato chunks and a ladleful of beans directly in the pot. Stir well to thicken the broth.
  2. Taste and add salt carefully, keeping in mind the smoked pork already carries salt. Simmer for a further 5 minutes.
  3. Let the soup rest off the heat for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Ladle into deep bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and scatter with parsley if using.

Notes

Jota is one of those soups that genuinely improves by a full day in the fridge. If you can cook it the day before and reheat it slowly, the broth becomes richer and the sour note from the sauerkraut settles into the background.