Maneštra

Ingredients

Beans

• 300 gdried borlotti or cranberry beans, soaked overnight
• 1bay leaf

Cured pork

• 200 gpancetta or smoked belly, in one piece
• 1smoked pork bone or hock
• or 150 g ombolo, cured pork loin

Vegetables

• 300 gpotatoes, in chunks
• 2carrots, diced
• 2celery sticks, diced
• 1onion, chopped
• 200 gdried maize kernels, soaked overnight, if wanted
• 200 gsavoy cabbage, shredded

Base

• 3 tbspolive oil
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 2bay leaves
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• a handful of parsley, chopped
• olive oil, to pour over

To serve

• bread
• a glass of Istrian red wine

Directions

1. Rinse them and pick over them for stones, which are common. Cover them with plenty of cold water and leave them overnight. Do the same with the dried maize kernels in a separate bowl if you use them.
2. Drain both and discard the soaking water. Put the drained beans in a large pot with fresh cold water. Bring them to the boil and boil hard for ten minutes. Add the piece of pancetta and the smoked bone. Add the soaked maize kernels if you are using them.
3. Add a bay leaf and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer it for about an hour and a half, covered. Top it up with hot water so everything stays covered. Do not salt it yet, since salt keeps bean skins firm.
4. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook them slowly for twelve minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic and cook it for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it until it darkens.
5. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika. Adding paprika off the heat stops it turning bitter. Tip the vegetable base into the bean pot. Add the remaining bay leaves to the pot.
6. Add the potato chunks and simmer for twenty minutes. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for fifteen minutes more. Season it with salt and black pepper now that the beans are soft. Finishing the meat is done once everything is tender.
7. Lift out the piece of pancetta and the bone. Cut the pancetta into small dice and return it to the pot. Pull any meat off the bone and return that too. Discard the bone once stripped. Thickening it is done without any flour. Take about two ladlefuls of the soup out.
8. Blend or mash them and stir them back in. It should be thick enough that a spoon leaves a channel briefly. Add hot water if it has gone stiffer than that. Take it off the heat and let it stand for twenty minutes. Serve it very hot in deep bowls. Scatter chopped parsley over each bowl. Pour a swirl of raw olive oil over the surface. Serve bread alongside and nothing else is needed.

Technique

• Boil the soaked beans hard for ten minutes, which deals with the lectins.
• Salt only once the beans are soft, since early salt keeps the skins firm.
• Blend two ladlefuls and stir them back to thicken it without flour.

Substitutions

• Smoked bacon in place of pancetta or ombolo.
• Tinned borlotti beans, added in the last thirty minutes.

Variations

• Maneštra od bobići, made with fresh young maize.
• With barley in place of maize kernels.
• Made meatless, for fasting days.

History

Istrian bean and vegetable soup related to minestrone, often made with dried maize kernels and cured pork.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maneštra?

Maneštra is a soup & stew from Croatia: istrian bean and vegetable pot, cousin of minestrone. Istrian bean and vegetable soup related to minestrone, often made with dried maize kernels and cured pork.

How long does Maneštra take to make?

Maneštra takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hours 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Maneštra?

Yes, within limits. Smoked bacon in place of pancetta or ombolo. Tinned borlotti beans, added in the last thirty minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Maneštra?

Add a bay leaf and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer it for about an hour and a half, covered. Top it up with hot water so everything stays covered. Do not salt it yet, since salt keeps bean skins firm.