Silverbeet and egg soup
SERVES 6
“Glorious, spicy acquacotta is from southern Tuscany,” says Katie. “When it was made in times of hardship it was little more than its name suggests – ‘cooked water’. The traditional way to make it is in a terracotta pot with layers of bread, soup and beaten egg. It’s covered and wrapped in cloth so the residual warmth of the soup cooks the egg. This is our simple version.”
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 Spanish onion, halved and
thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced ½ cup (loosely packed) basil 1 litre (4 cups) warm chicken or vegetable stock, or hot water
90 gm tomato paste
1 kg silverbeet or spinach
leaves, coarsely chopped ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes,
or to taste
6 small slices thick crusty
bread, toasted
1 garlic clove, halved
6 eggs
1 Heat oil in a large saucepan covered with a lid over low heat. Add onion, celery, basil and a splash of stock or water, and cook until onions and celery are translucent
(15 minutes). Stir tomato paste into remaining stock and add to pan, then add greens, chilli flakes and 1 tsp salt. Stir until spinach wilts and soup bubbles. Loosely cover pan and cook until soup is well combined (30-40 minutes). Adjust seasoning and add chilli flakes to taste. Remove from heat.
2 Ladle a layer of soup about 1cm deep into a wide saucepan or casserole. Lightly rub one side of toasts with cut side of garlic and place in pan garlicside up. Spoon in remaining soup and crack eggs on top. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat until eggs have just set (4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and leave still covered in a warm place so bread can absorb the liquid (5-10 minutes). Serve in warm bowls with an egg for everyone.