🍲 Acquacotta
Acquacotta, literally “cooked water”, is a rustic Tuscan soup of onion, celery and tomato simmered slowly in water, ladled over slices of stale bread and finished with an egg poached right in the broth and a shower of grated pecorino. It is thick, soft and comforting, with a sweet onion-tomato base and a salty, sharp cheese finish.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 400 g ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.2 litres water
- 4 slices stale country bread
- 4 eggs
- 40 g pecorino, grated
- Salt, black pepper and a few basil leaves
Method
- Cook the onion and celery gently in the olive oil for 15 minutes until very soft.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, then pour in the water, season and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Crack the eggs into the simmering soup and poach for 3–4 minutes.
- Put a slice of bread in each bowl, ladle the soup and an egg over it and finish with pecorino, pepper and basil.
How to make it lighter
- Use 1 tbsp of olive oil to soften the vegetables instead of 3 — about 240 kcal less for the pot.
- Use thin bread slices and add extra celery and tomato to keep the bowl filling.
- A small spoonful of pecorino goes a long way; it is the most calorie-dense topping.
History
Acquacotta comes from the Maremma, the coastal area of southern Tuscany and northern Lazio, where it is usually described as the food of shepherds and charcoal burners who cooked with whatever they carried: stale bread, a few vegetables and sometimes an egg. Villages in the Maremma still make it in many local versions.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →