Donal Skehan’s Tuscan acquacotta soup

“This rustic Tuscan soup makes magic from pantry basics,” explains telly food writer and Irish presenter Donal Skehan. “Add an egg on top and suddenly it’s brunch-worthy.”

Tuscan acquacotta soup

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

1 onion
1 carrot
2 sticks of celery
4 garlic cloves
Olive oil
1tsp fennel seeds
A pinch of chilli flakes
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
100g Parmesan, plus the rind
1 litre good-quality vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g cavolo nero or any other leafy green, such as York cabbage or sweetheart cabbage
½ a sourdough baguette
1 x 400g tin of borlotti beans
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
4 eggs
2tbsp flat-leaf parsley
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Begin by finely dicing the onion, carrot and celery, then finely slice three of the garlic cloves.

2. Get a large casserole pot over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for five to six minutes, until softened, then add the garlic, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves and fry for a further three minutes.

3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, Parmesan rind and stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer.

4. Roughly chop the cavolo nero, then put the Parmesan mixture into a mini blender and blitz until coarse.

5. Slice the baguette into thick slices and drizzle with olive oil. Place a griddle pan over a medium heat and add the baguette slices. Toast for a few minutes on each side, until charred. Remove from the pan, rub with the remaining garlic clove cut in half and set aside.

6. Drain the beans and chickpeas, add to the soup along with the chopped cavolo nero, then allow everything to warm through for a few minutes.

7. Now crack the eggs into the soup, nestling them in so that they are slightly submerged. Place a lid on the pot and cook for three to four minutes, or longer if you like your eggs firmer.

8. To serve, place a slice of toasted baguette in the bottom of four warmed soup bowls, then spoon an egg on to each slice of bread. Ladle over the soup, discarding the Parmesan rind, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves.

9. Roughly chop the flat-leaf parsley and sprinkle over the soup, along with the Parmesan, a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and some cracked black pepper.

Donal’s Real Time Recipes by Donal Skehan is published in hardback by Yellow Kite (Hodder & Stoughton), priced £25. Photography by Donal Skehan.  Available October 9.