Maneštra borrows its name straight from the Italian word for soup, minestra, ultimately from the Latin ministrare, "to serve" - the soup once ladled out to the household from a single central pot. Istria spent centuries under the Venetian Republic, and Italian language and cooking took deep root there; the Istrian dish is a local cousin of Italian minestrone, simmered with native romano (borlotti) beans, potato and cured pork, even borrowing the bone from Italian-style dry-cured ham for depth, and cooked thicker - closer to a stew - than its Italian relative.
Spoon-coating and deeply savoury, the broth carries the smoky warmth of cured pork and the creaminess of mashed beans, with soft chunks of potato making every spoonful satisfying. It is rustic, filling and quietly soulful; in the bobići version, sweet young corn adds bright bursts of sweetness.
Beans are roughly two-thirds starch, and long, gentle simmering swells and bursts the starch granules, releasing amylose and amylopectin into the broth to thicken it toward a near-creamy body - the more amylose, the stiffer the gel and the heavier the coating. Mashing some of the beans near the end frees still more starch. Meanwhile the ham bone and smoked pork slowly render smoke and fat while their collagen melts into gelatin, lending round body and savour, and a final pounded paste of fatback, garlic and parsley (pešt) is stirred in for extra depth.
Variations
maneštra od bobići with sweet young corn, jota with sauerkraut or sour turnip and ribs, white maneštra with barley, a fennel version, and a meatless summer version
On the Palate
Where Maneštra (Istrian) sits in the Croatian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min
- 110 min
Soak dried beans overnight, then drain.
- 210 min
In a large pot, gently render diced pancetta or a smoked pork bone in olive oil.
Watch outRender the pancetta or pork bone low and slow until the fat runs clear and smells savory, not browned hard.
- 312 min
Add chopped onion, carrot, celery and potato and sweat until softened.
- 45 min
Add the beans, a bay leaf and enough water to cover generously.
- 590 min
Simmer gently, partly covered, until the beans are very tender, topping up water as needed.
Watch outSimmer gently until the beans crush easily between two fingers — undercooked beans won't release the starch that thickens the pot.
- 615 min
Stir in fresh corn kernels and cook a little longer.
- 75 min
Lightly mash some of the beans and potato against the pot to thicken the broth.
Watch outMash a ladle of beans and potato against the side of the pot until the broth turns cloudy and coats the spoon.
- 85 min
Season with salt, pepper and parsley, and serve hot with crusty bread.
