Maremma, Grosseto, Tuscany
The 'cooked water' of the Maremma herdsmen: wild vegetables (cicoria, cardone, wild fennel), onion, and tomato simmered in salted water until soft, poured over stale bread, and finished with a poached egg. It is among the most austere dishes in the Italian canon — named for the fact that water itself is the medium and cooking it is the technique. The 'wealth' of the acquacotta is the egg — the poorest version has only wild greens, water, and bread. In the Grosseto tradition, dried porcini and celery are the minimum.
Austere and profound — wild greens in salted water poured over stale bread, completed by a runny poached egg; the Maremmano herdsman's meal that needs nothing more
{"Wild or bitter greens are central — cicoria, cardone (wild cardoon), or wild fennel form the character","No stock, no fat-base braise — the vegetables are cooked in salted water with a thread of olive oil","Bread: stale, toasted, placed in the bowl first (not in the pot) — it softens without dissolving","Egg poached directly in the soup pot in the last 3–4 minutes — the yolk must remain runny","Poured over the bread and eaten immediately — the egg, bread, and green broth form the complete dish"}
{"The classic Maremma enhancement: dried porcini soaked and added with their strained liquid","A thread of raw olive oil over the finished bowl is the only acceptable enrichment","Pecorino Toscano crumbled over the surface is the shepherd's version"}
{"Stock instead of water — the dish must be based on water; stock changes its essential character","Soft fresh bread — it collapses; the stale dried bread provides necessary structure","Fully cooked yolk — the runny yolk is the sauce"}
La Cucina Maremmana — Piero Ferrini