Vegan yotta soup

Tam West

This may be my signature recipe and after making it for years I’ve evolved it to a point I think is worth sharing again. The original Yotta is a traditional family favourite based on what my grandparents grew and stored over winter in Slovenia — beans, sauerkraut and pork. When I shared some photos of a vegan version on Instagram earlier this year, a helpful cousin over there suggested adding something smoky to round out the flavour. He was so right of course. If you want to jazz up the look a bit you can cook some carefully cubed potato with more sauerkraut and use it as a garnish just before serving — the acidity keeps even floury potatoes like agria totally intact when cooked and they look pretty in the bowl.

For the soup

3 Tbsp	Coconut oil
2	Onions, finely chopped
1 stick	Celery, with leaves, finely diced
10	Garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp	Freshly ground black pepper
2 cans	Kidney beans, 400g, with their juice
2 small	Potatoes, chopped (Main)
8 cups	Stock, 8 cups water + 6 tsp Massel "beef style" vegan stock powder
¼ tsp	Smoke essence, available at fancy food shops
2 cups	Sauerkraut, packed, 300g

For the roux

4 Tbsp	Olive oil, 60g
3 Tbsp	Plain flour, 30g

For the gremolata

½ cup	Curly parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp	Lemon zest, finely grated
1	Garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice
1 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion, celery, garlic and pepper. Saute about 5 minutes until softened. Add the beans with all their juices, potato, stock and smoke essence. Simmer for 15 minutes then gently mash to meld ingredients. Add the sauerkraut and simmer a further 45 minutes.
2. For the roux, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir frequently until it is well browned and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Add carefully to the soup, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer another 5 minutes to cook. Ideally the soup will be rich, but not as thick as a stew. If it's too thick, you can add more vegetable stock to adjust the consistency. Taste and add extra salt and pepper to suit — some sauerkraut is saltier than others so it's good to adjust at the end. You can also add a little extra stock powder if you want to really crank it up.
3. To make gremolata, combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve soup with a spoonful of gremolata on top and crusty sourdough alongside.