The region of Carso in Friuli-Venezia Giulia overlooks the Adriatic Sea, skirting the Slovenian border just north of Trieste. Here, locals look forward to late summer so they can prepare bobici, a beloved local soup.
What is bobici?
Named for its main ingredient, bobici means ‘grain of corn’ in Slovenian, but the term is generally applied to all grains as it can also be made with barley. The soup, which also contains potatoes and beans (usually borlotti), is usually prepared between August and September, during the corn harvest.
While it's associated with late summer and the Feast of the Assumption, a national holiday that falls on August 15, bobici is also prepared during the colder months that follow, usually with corn and dried beans. Typically, the soup exists in two forms: vegetarian and one with bacon or prosciutto cotto. The dish is considered a soup of the heart, the kind of recipe that evokes a certain nostalgia for childhood. This dish bears a similarity to jota, another popular local soup.
Jota
Jota is found in several variants and the soup shares just two ingredients with bobici: beans and potatoes. But each jota variant features its own particularities. In Trieste, they include capuzi garbi (sauerkraut in local dialect), in Gorizia, brovada (sour turnip), while the Slovenians add pork ribs, bacon, or ham.
Today, both soups are loved and appreciated, but that wasn't always the case as both have humble origins and were considered peasant dishes – so much so that in the past, women would say, "Simpri jote, simpri jote e mai polente e lat, simpri jerbis e mai un biel fantat.” (Always jota, always jota and never polenta and milk / Always herbs, always herbs and never a good guy!) One of these nonagenarian women shared her bobici recipe with us. “I do not make jota. It's from other areas. We only make bobici here,” she said.
Nonna’s recipe for bobici soup
We got this recipe from a nonna who only needs to eye how much she uses of each ingredient, so the measurements might not be perfect.
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh corn kernels
⅔ lb. fresh beans
3-4 potatoes
bacon
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
¼ head of kohlrabi (or turnip) cabbage
celery
parsley
bay leaf
salt
pepper
Method:
Cut the bacon into cubes and fry them in a sauté pan until the fat has melted and the meat has browned. Add the garlic, onion, leftover cooking water from the beans, and ½ of the cooked beans. Use an immersion blender to purée. Add the rest of the cooked beans, corn, carrots, kohlrabi cabbage, and parsley. Add more water, salt, and pepper to taste, and cook for another ten minutes then serve with bread.