Cooked Water
If Maremma could be summed up in one dish, it would certainly be acquacotta.
Acquacotta is a dish linked to peasant tradition and is one of the oldest recipes in the Maremma. As the name itself “acquacotta” suggests, it is a poor dish, a vegetable-based soup, then enriched, from time to time, with eggs. The basic recipe is a vegetable stew (carrots, onion, celery, chard), then served with toasted bread, extra virgin olive oil, and one egg per person, added just before serving the soup, so that it doesn’t overcook .
From the Maremman Table with Love: A selection of authentic recipes from the heart of the Southern Tuscan countryside.
For:4 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
2 red onionsddddd
5 ripe tomatoes
1 cabbage
beets
1 a stalk of celery
4 eggs
4 slices of toasted bread
grated pecorino
olive oil
Method
- Clean the vegetables and cut them into small pieces.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables, simmer for 10 minutes.
- I would add the peeled and chopped tomatoes, a little water and a pinch of salt.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- When the soup is almost cooked, add the eggs and let them cook for a few minutes.
How to serve it:
Arrange the toasted bread on the bottom of a large dish and arrange the soup on top of the bread, being careful not to break the eggs. Sprinkle with a little grated pecorino and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Photo: Giorgio Minguzzi via Flickr
