Acquasale Lucana
Acquasale Lucana is a comforting peasant bowl of stale durum wheat bread soaked in hot seasoned broth, topped with soft onions, a poached egg, and crispy sweet peppers.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 460 kcal
Equipment
- •Wide saucepan
- •Small frying pan
- •Slotted spoon
- •Ladle
- •Terracotta serving bowls
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 58 g
- fibre
- 6 g
- protein
- 16 g
- calories
- 460 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Divide the thick slices of stale bread between four wide serving bowls.
- 2
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat.
- 3
Add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt to the pan.
- 4
Cook gently for eight minutes until the onions turn soft and sweet.
- 5
Add the chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic cloves, and water into the saucepan.
- 6
Bring the broth to a gentle simmer and season with salt and oregano.
- 7
Crack the eggs into the simmering liquid and poach for three minutes.
- 8
Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- 9
Flash-fry the dried sweet peppers for five seconds until they puff up.
- 10
Remove the peppers immediately to a paper towel to crisp up.
- 11
Ladle the hot onion broth and poached eggs gently over the stale bread.
- 12
Top each bowl with a crisp fried pepper and serve immediately.
Chef's tips
Use genuinely rock-hard sourdough or durum wheat bread so it holds its shape when hot broth is ladled over. Watch the sweet peppers constantly during frying, as they burn within seconds and become bitter.
Ingredient substitutions
- peperoni cruschi (dried sweet Senise peppers) → mild dried sweet red peppers or sweet paprika fried gently in oil
- Pane di Matera → crusty artisan sourdough or coarse country loaf
Storage
Acquasale should be eaten immediately once assembled, as the soaked bread will disintegrate if kept.
Reheating
Reheat any leftover onion broth separately to a simmer before pouring it over freshly sliced stale bread.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Using soft fresh bread, which dissolves into a mushy paste rather than absorbing broth evenly.
- •Overcooking the dried peppers until they blacken and develop a bitter taste.
- •Boiling the broth violently while poaching the eggs, which shreds the delicate whites.
Serving suggestions
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