Stracciatella has been called “the most Roman of soups” although just about every region in Italy has its version. Stracciatella means “little rags” because that’s what the eggs look like when they’re swirled into boiling broth. [Although that’s what the water looked like the first time I boiled my home-made potato gnocchi.] Traditionally, other ingredients tossed into the soup include bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and grated lemon peel.
I call this recipe “Stracciatella…with benefits” because it includes chicken and vegetables. This is a great recipe if you have kids because it’s a meal in a pot. Just serve it with a sliced baguette and you’re in business. This was the first dish served to my two daughters where they would actually eat spinach. I think they had to eat the spinach to get to the chicken.
Stracciatella
Yield: Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
- 5 cups chicken stock or broth
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 5 ounces baby spinach, cut into thin strips
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and celery and cook until slightly softened. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the garlic, the cheese, the chicken and the spinach and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove soup from the heat. Pour the eggs into the soup and stir with a large fork until the eggs whites appear cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve.
I hope you like it as much as we do.
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