Name: Stracciatella (Italian Egg Drop Soup)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 8-9 cups homemade broth (beef or chicken); 4 eggs; 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (freshly grated); pinch freshly grated nutmeg; salt (to taste); black pepper (freshly grated to taste)

March 5, 2018

The name of this Italian soup, Stracciatella, comes from the Italian verb meaning “to shred,” a reference to the strands of egg in the soup.

I learned to make this from Auntie Helen d’Aquili when I was in college.

**Auntie Helen and I in 1976. Can you believe my hair!!!**

It’s really simple to make but, like so many Italian dishes, it relies on few ingredients that must be of high quality. In this case the broth is absolutely paramount as is high-quality Italian imported Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

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I have a few friends in Santa Fe who raise chickens and I am occasionally gifted with freshly laid eggs but good supermarket eggs are usually what I use.

I’ll let you in on a little domestic struggle, however. I want to raise chickens. My husband doesn’t. So far, he’s winning the struggle but I haven’t given up. His excuses are pretty lame as far as I’m concerned. The most common one is that chickens will attract coyote.

HELLO! We live in the forest. We are surrounded by coyote and other wildlife. Just an hour ago, while sitting at my desk getting ready to write this blog, a big deer walked through the paved area in front of our house gnawing down our landscaping like it was a salad bar.

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Most summer nights we hear the coyote yipping as go hunting. They are mere yards from our house. I don’t think a few chickens will bring them any closer than the already abundant rabbits currently do. We just need to build a coyote-proof chicken enclosure. There’s a great how-to right here (Frank! Frank, are you listening?).

**Frank seems pretty happy in this selfie we took on Kauai. Chickens roam everywhere on Kauai. I think that is part of Frank’s happiness though he has yet to admit it.**

Homemade broth is essential. Chicken or beef broth are both standard choices, though Auntie Helen used beef. You can make an excellent beef broth as part of the process of making Marisa’s Mystical Meatballs. In fact, this soup would make an excellent first course followed by the meatballs and accompanied by a vegetable or two and some rice.

If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look. They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.

Stracciatella (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

This classic Italian soup requires top-notch broth and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Homemade broth is essential. See the Notes section, below, for a link to my blog post that contains instructions on making a wonderfully flavorful beef broth.