Acquacotta Recipes

ACQUACOTTA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the celery, carrots, onion, garlic and thyme for 10-15 mins until softened. Meanwhile, cover the porcini with hot water and soak for 15 mins until softened and swollen. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and roughly chop. Add to the softened vegetables along with the soaking liquid and cook for another 5 mins.
• Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 10 mins until they begin to break down, then pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Poach the 6 eggs in a separate large saucepan of simmering water for 3-4 mins until set, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the parsley and a little seasoning to the soup, and mix in the torn-up toasted bread. Divide the soup between 6 bowls and place an egg on top of each. Serve scattered with extra thyme.

ACQUACOTTA

Steps:

• Heat up the extra-virgin olive oil in a deep saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft. Then add the chopped mushrooms and chopped spinach and mix together. Add the chile pepper, salt, and pepper.
• Add the water, enough to cover the vegetables. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese.

TUSCAN VEGETABLE SOUP (ACQUACOTTA)

Steps:

• Place the toasted bread in two soup bowls.
• Place the onion and celery in a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pot. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and stir to coat. Cook over a medium-low heat, or until the onion is translucent but not brown. Add Swiss chard (or porcinis, if using) and stir briefly to wilt. Add hot pepper, tomatoes, and simmering water. Season lightly with salt and cook over a low heat (barely a simmer) for 20 minutes, until vegetables are very soft.
• As vegetables are cooking, bring about an inch of water and a half teaspoon of salt to a boil in a deep skillet. At the end of the vegetables' cooking time, turn the skillet heat down to a gentle simmer. Add the parsley to the soup.
• Break the eggs into a small bowl, one at a time, and slide them into the simmering water. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the whites are set, but the yellow is still runny. When done, use a large slotted spoon to place one egg on each toast slice in bowls. Ladle broth and vegetables over each egg and top with a generous sprinkling of the cheese.