Acquacotta: an old delicious recipe from Tuscany
Posted by Claudia | |
When bad weather hits, In Italy something really traditionally is going to be on the table: let’s discover a fantastic Italian recipe coming from Tuscany: acquacotta.
Acquacotta is a vegetable stew, which was made by the farmers who had to go almost 12 hours in the fields during the harvest. This is why this recipe belongs to the farmer tradition and to the so called “cucina povera“, “poor” in means but great in the taste!
Of course, in a time where supermarket didn’t exist and hard work was the rule for the majority of people, the Italians invented from a very “poor” ingredients what now is recognised as the best of the world cousine!
Healthy, delicious and very filling because the acquacotta (“cooked water”) soup is enriched with bread and a cooked poached egg on top.
Use seasonal vegetables to make this recipe. The traditional soup would have been made with whatever the peasants picked that day.
This is why this soup is perfect for a winter’s day!
4 people will need 2 red onions, 6 ripe tomatoes, 1 cabbage, 2 carrot, 1 stick of celery, 4 eggs, 4 slices of crusty bread, Pecorino cheese and olive oil. What to do then? Simply: clean and slice the vegetables into bite size pieces. In the while, heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a casserole, add the vegetables and fry on medium-high heat for ten minutes.
Then add the tomatoes, almost a litre of water and salt. The soup has to boil for 20 minutes ca.
Now it is the time to make the eggs ready: to do so, fill another pan with a tiny layer of water, bring to the boil with a bit of salt, break eggs into a bowl and slide them into the pan: 3-4 mins are sufficient for the eggs to set.
Place a slice of toasted bread at the bottom of each dish, while putting the poached egg on top. After that, pour the vegetable stew over it! Do not forget to add pecorino cheese, a bit of oil and taste the soup!
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