Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [54]
La Jota—Beans and Sauerkraut Soup
FOR MOST of the twentieth century, the city of Trieste has clung passionately to its Italian identity, but its cooking, such as this stout bean soup with potatoes, sauerkraut, and pork, often speaks with the earthy accent of its Slavic origins.
An ingredient that contributes much to the delightful consistency of the soup is fresh, unsmoked pork rind, preferably coming from the jowl. It is, unfortunately, rather difficult to obtain except from specialized pork butchers. If you can persuade your butcher to get some for you and you have to buy more than you need for this recipe, you can freeze the rest and use it on another occasion. If no rind of any kind is available to you, use fresh pig’s feet, which are easier to find, or the fresh end of the shoulder known as pork hock.
When completed, jota is enriched with a final flavoring called pestà: salt pork so finely chopped that it is nearly reduced to a paste, hence the name. Although the components here are different, the procedure recalls the practice of adding flavored oils to some Tuscan bean soups.
For 8 servings
FOR THE SOUP
2 pounds fresh cranberry beans, unshelled weight, OR 1 cup dried cranberry beans or red kidney beans, soaked and cooked
¼ pound bacon
1 pound sauerkraut, drained
½ teaspoon cumin
1 medium potato
¾ pound fresh pork jowl, OR pig’s feet, OR pork hock, see remarks above
Salt
3 tablespoons coarse cornmeal
FOR THE PESTÀ, THE SAVORY FINISH
¼ cup salt pork chopped fine to a pulp either with a knife or in the food processor
1 tablespoon onion chopped very fine
1 teaspoon garlic chopped very fine
Salt
1 tablespoon flour
1. If using fresh beans: Shell, rinse, and cook them in water. Set aside in their cooking liquid.
If using cooked dried beans: Reserve for later, together with their liquid, and begin with Step 2.
2. Cut the bacon into 1-inch strips, put it in a saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the drained sauerkraut and the cumin, stir thoroughly to coat well with bacon fat, and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup water, cover the pan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook for 1 hour. At that time the sauerkraut should be substantially reduced in bulk and there should be no liquid in the pan. If some liquid is still left, uncover the pan, turn up the heat to medium, and boil it away.
4. Peel the potato, cut it up into small chunks, rinse in cold water and drain.
5. If using fresh pork jowl or other fresh pork rind: While the sauerkraut is slowly stewing and/or the fresh beans are cooking, put the pork rind in a soup pot with 1 quart of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, drain, discarding the cooking liquid, and cut the rind into ¾- to 1-inch-wide strips. Do not be alarmed if it is tough. It will soften to a creamy consistency in subsequent cooking.
Return the rind to the soup pot, add the cut-up potato, 3 cups of water, and a large pinch of salt. Cover the pot and adjust heat so that the water bubbles at a slow, but steady boil for 1 hour.
If using fresh pig’s feet or pork hock: Put the pork, potato, and salt in a soup pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches, put a lid on the pot, and adjust heat so that the water bubbles at a slow, but steady boil for 1 hour.
Take the pork out of the pot, bone it, cut it into ½-inch strips, and put it back into the pot.
6. Add the cooked fresh or dried beans with all their liquid, cover, adjust heat so that the liquid bubbles at a steady, but slow simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
7. Add the sauerkraut, cover the pot again, and continue to cook, always at a steady simmer, for 1 more hour.
8. Add the cornmeal in a thin stream, stirring it thoroughly into the soup. Add 2 cups water, cover, and cook for 45 minutes more, always at a slow, steady simmer. Stir from time to time.
9. When the soup is nearly done, prepare the pestà: Put the chopped salt pork and onion in a skillet or small saucepan, and turn on the heat to