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• Acquacotta (wild greens and bread soup)

This ancient dish, acquacotta (literally, “cooked water” but also meaning “cooked in water”), is a tradition of southern Tuscany and Lazio, where the fields are filled with mounds of jagged-edged weeds and other wild vegetables. <br /> <br />The characteristic of this dish, at least alla Viterbese, the way they do it in Viterbo, is that the vegetables and aromatics are cooked entirely in water, not sizzled in olive oil. And in any case, the classic soffritto is usually forgone for just some garlic cloves, whole and unpeeled, that go straight into the water. To serve the acquacotta, the vegetables and accompanying broth is then spooned over a slice of dried or stale bread, which soaks up any liquid. The resulting dish should not be brothy at all, in fact, any liquid that remains in the bottom of the bowl should be removed, as it would interfere with the final touch – some potent extra virgin olive oil, drizzled over the top. <br /> <br />It's a wonderfully simple dish of clean flavours where the strong, bitter flavours of the wild chicory sing out in contrast to the creamy, mellow egg yolk and bitey, raw olive oil. If you can't get your hands on wild chicory -- the traditional must have ingredient for this dish -- try this with other wild greens or even your favourite regular greens. Try broccoli rabe (turnip tops), beet tops or anything else that is dark green.

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