Maneštre (Thick Vegetable Soups)
The best known Istrian spoon meal – maneštra - is deeply rooted in the region’s culinary traditions. Once the most common meal on Istrian tables, and often the only one, maneštra is fashionable once again. The basis of Istrian maneštra is boiled potatoes and beans to which seasonal vegetables are added that give it a distinct name: maneštra od bobići (young corn), od jačmika (barley), od slanca or slanutka (chickpea), od koromača (fennel), etcetera. When pickled cabbage (sauerkraut) or sour turnip is added, it becomes jota – a typical winter dish.
A unique characteristic of Istrian maneštras is pešt (pesto). Pešt is made by mashing together chopped bacon, garlic and parsley to form a paste. It is added to the soup at the very beginning so the bacon is well cooked.
Istrian maneštra was also precisely defined by the type of pork that was added. The most common and appreciated addition was the dry ham bone which is still sacrosanct for a maneštra with young corn; in jota, it was obligatory to include dried bacon; dried pork ribs were reserved for the chickpea version, dried pork leg for the barley soup, and dried pork tongue for the fennel.
