Iota is made with Pork Hock, Polish Wedding Sausage, Borlotti and Sauerkraut = IOTA (a lean version) sounds very complicated, but it is not.
Iota (also known as Jota) is one of those dishes that always brings a smile to the table—not just because it’s delicious, but because it sparks great conversation. Many of my friends are genuinely surprised to learn that this hearty, rustic soup is actually an Italian traditional dish from Trieste, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, just north of Venice.
Classic Iota can be quite rich, especially when made with fatty cuts of pork. But it doesn’t have to be a heavy dish at all. With just a few tweaks—mostly in the choice of meat and how you handle the broth—you can make a beautifully fragrant, deeply satisfying lean version without losing any of its soul.
Beans to start: Borlotti
Begin with borlotti beans—those gorgeous pink-flecked beans that turn creamy and chestnut-like once cooked. Soak them overnight so they soften up, and then simmer them until tender. Their earthy sweetness is one of the foundations of a good Iota.
The pork element: Hock for flavour, not fat
Instead of adding fatty cuts, use a pork hock. It still gives you that deep, savoury flavour but with much less richness. Place the hock in a pot of cold water and let it come to a gentle simmer. Slow cooking is key here—let it bubble away until the meat is soft and ready to fall off the bone.
About half an hour before the hock is done, drop in some peeled potatoes. They’ll cook in the porky broth and help thicken the soup later. Once everything is tender, lift out the hock, pick off the lean meat, and set it aside. The broth will have a layer of fat on top—skim this off to keep the dish light.
Sauerkraut in IOTA
Sauerkraut is what gives Iota its distinctive zing. Cook it gently in the skimmed pork broth—it softens, mellows, and absorbs a lovely depth of flavour. When the sauerkraut is tender, stir in roughly half the cooked borlotti beans and some of the potatoes. Use a potato masher to lightly mash this mixture. You’re not aiming for a purée—just enough to create body and texture.
Assembling your Iota
Now for the satisfying part: bringing everything together.
Add the remaining whole borlotti beans, the rest of the cubed potatoes, the chunks of lean pork hock meat, and slices of Polish Wedding Sausage. I love using this particular sausage because it’s traditionally made from lean cuts, lightly smoked, and subtly seasoned. It adds protein and flavour without making the dish greasy or heavy.
Stir it all together, let it warm through, and enjoy how the flavours mingle—tangy, smoky, earthy, comforting.
And there you have it: a lighter, leaner version of traditional Iota that still feels like it has been simmering on a Triestine family stove for generations.
There are other posts for making Iota and these include quantities of ingredients:
IOTA (Recipe, a very thick soup from Trieste) Post 1
IOTA FROM TRIESTE, Italy, made with smoked pork, sauerkraut, borlotti beans – Post 2