# Aquacotta Recipe Wanted



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Lately I've been thinking about Italian food and making a few pasta dishes. A couple of days ago I saw Lidia Bastianich prepare aquacotta on a PBS fund raiser show. I wasn't able to get the entire recipe written down, and so started looking around for a similar recipe, or even for her's. Well, it turns out there are very few recipes for aquacotta that I could find, and most seemed to be pretty boring compared to Lidia's.

So, does anyone have a Bastianich recipe for aquacotta, or any interesting recipes of their own? I'd love to see them. Thanks!


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

That was a new one on me, Shel. Trying to translate I came up with "cooked water." In short, soup.

Googled aquacotta, and there were pages of hits. So I dipped into them at random. Yeah, it's a soup, alright. Generally identified as being Tuscan. But that's where all similarity seemed to end.

Of the six recipes I checked there were six different ingredients lists, with not too much in common. Some included all parts of a mirepoix. Some had only one or two of them. Some had tomatoes. Some didn't. Some had bread (indeed, one site called it a cross between a soup and a bread pudding), and some didn't.

Have you considered calling the TV station? Sometimes they'll look over the tapes and give you the info you need.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Well, thanks ... you found what I found. The bummer is that all the recipes are so different - and almost bear no relationship to one another - it's hard to work up something that'll fit Lidia's recipe, not that I have to end up with _exactly_ that. I'll visit a book store and see if her book is available ... I just need to jog my memory.


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## chrisa63 (Jun 6, 2009)

Hi, Shel - Wondering if you ever found the original recipe for the Acquacotta that you were looking for. They just re-ran that Public TV pledge drive and I wrote it down. here it is in case you are still looking for it. Christine.

Lidia Bastianich (Lidia’s Italy) – Acquacotta Soup With Poached Eggs
(taken from watching a pledge drive on PBS)

1 onion, finely chopped in food processor
2 ribs celery plus leaves, finely chopped/almost pureed
handful flat-leaf parsley leaves,
handful basil leaves
2-3 T. tomato paste (or fresh tomato pulp)
1 tsp dried chili flakes
3-4 T. approx. olive oil
1 small bunch chard, deribbed, sliced in thick ribbons
Salt to taste
5 eggs
Slices of grilled French bread (stale is just fine)

In food processor, finely chop onion, celery ribs + leaves, parsley and basil til almost a puree (slightly less for a more textured soup, which is Lidia’s preference).
Heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan and cook this mixture for several minutes til the water dries up and it begins to caramelize slightly.
At this point, push onion mix to sides of sauté pan, and pour an additional tablespoon of oil in the hot-spot you’ve cleared. Fry the chilies for a minute, and add the tomato paste. Fry for a few seconds, then mix together with the onion mixture.
Put everything into large soup stock pot.
Add boiling water (she didn’t say how much, but looked like 10-12 cups, quite a bit, enough to fill to ¾ level a large stock pot.
Add your chard, well-washed, with white ribs cut out, sliced into wide ribbons. Cover and cook at a vigorous simmer for about 40 minutes, she said. Salt to taste.
Ladle several cups of the finished soup back into a deep sauté pan and keep it at a simmering boil. Create 5 slight nests and crack an egg into each to poach. This will take only a few minutes. Turn off the heat while the eggs still appear somewhat soft, as they will continue to cook in the hot broth and you want the centers/yolks to remain runny.
In individual soup bowls place a couple of slices of grilled bread. Use a spatula to carefully lift a poach egg with plenty of veggies underneath onto the bread and then ladle plenty of the soup around it. Enjoy!


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## chithanh119 (Nov 2, 2008)

Chrisa's recipe is great. I will try to cook this recipe


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