Cooked Water
When I was in Tuscany, one of the most delicious things I ate was acquacotta, which literally means “cooked water.” It doesn’t sound great, but it is. They refer to it as soup, but I wouldn’t call it that because you can eat it with a fork. I guess shepherds and charcoal burners in the Maremma part of Tuscany would toss whatever was at hand into pots of water and came up with this delicious meal.
Here’s a recipe:
* 4 Tablespoons olive oil
* 4 stalks celery, finely chopped
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 1 jalapeno pepper or other small chili pepper, minced
* 1 pound spinach, torn into big pieces, with thick stems discarded
* 1 10-ounce can tomatoes, seeds squeezed out
* 6 cups water
* salt and pepper
* 2 eggs (for thickening)
* 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
* 6 eggs (for poaching)
Undergarnish: 6 thick slices of coarse, dense bread, grilled or broiled
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (you want a wide area for poaching the eggs at the end), then saute the celery, onion, and chili pepper over low heat until the onion is transparent. Stir in the spinach until it has wilted and glazed with the other vegetables. Stir in the tomatoes and let them cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in 6 cups of water and bring to a boil–then reduce heat and let simmer for about an hour.
When ready to serve, beat the 2 eggs and the Parmesan cheese together, then stir into the soup. Let the soup return to a boil over medium heat. Break each of the 6 eggs into the soup on spots that are exactly where you see the soup bubbling. Simmer gently for about 3 minutes, so that the eggs are all nicely poached.
To serve, place a piece of grilled bread in each bowl. Top each one with one of the poached eggs. Then ladle the soup on top.
