Soup on Sunday: Stracciatella Soup
by allthebest • 25 Sep ’11 • profile • 9 Comments
Another perfect example of how the Italians take the simplest of ingredients and put them together in a way that looks, smells and tastes amazingly delicious.
Stracciatella is known as ‘rag’ soup because stracciatto means ‘torn apart’ and the beaten egg in the chicken broth gives the appearance of little shredded rags. You can serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lemon or a drizzle of truffle oil.
I have included a basic version and a more jazzed up version. I am sure there are as many Stracciatella recipes as there are Italian grandmothers.
Basic Version:
6 cups chicken stock
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablepoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup lightly packed baby spinach leaves, cut in thin strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, parsley, and basil to blend. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir the broth in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin strands of egg, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach, then season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or a drizzle of truffle oil.
Stracciatella with Spinach and Pasta
1/2 pound small pasta
2 quarts chicken stock
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 ounces baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
Extra-virgin olive oil and lemon wedges, for drizzling
Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well. In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer with the garlic; simmer for 3 minutes. Add the pasta and spinach and cook over moderate heat until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper.
Gently stir in the eggs, breaking them into long strands. Gently simmer the soup until the eggs are just firm, about 1 minute. Stir in the 1/2 cup of cheese. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil and serve, passing lemon wedges and more cheese on the side.
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Funny…I grew up with stracciatella (not particularly liking it though as a kid) and now in Italy the only stracciatella you can find is a kind of chocolate laced icecream!
I haven’t tried cooking this before although it seems pretty easy to make. I will have to give this a try and see if it will turn out well one of these days.
I love soups! So, when I saw the heading, I had to come see what this was about. I plan to try it! Thanks for I suspect will be a nice addition to my collection of recipes.
Hi Ronda,
Thanks for sharing and inspiring! I’ll look forward to seeing more vegetarian selections as you come across them. All best wishes -
Just a note that last night my beau and I made the “Soup au Pistou” that you posted recently – it was delicious! A definite hit! We are starting our own Soup on Sunday cooking …
Thank you! So glad it was a hit! Eating mainly a vegetarian diet myself, I am always on the lookout! x
I just love your ‘soup on Sunday’ recipes Rhonda! I just made the stratiatella soup and it was A BIG HIT!! kEEP UP WITH THE STELLAR WORK YOU ARE DOING!!
A fan forever….James K. <3
Thank YOU James!! Did you make the basic version or the “jazzier” version?
Love your blog but do not want soup recipes