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An Italian-style egg drop soup with fresh spinach, pasta and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Stracciatella (from the Italian word stracciato meaning ragged or shredded) is a simple dish similar to Chinese egg drop soup. Traditional Italian recipes call for nothing more than chicken stock, eggs whisked together with semolina flour and grated cheese, and a sprinkling of parsley. The beaten egg mixture is drizzled into hot stock to creat the “shreds” (stracciatelle) of cooked egg. Our adaptation, which adds fresh spinach and ditalini pasta, is a common one, and it makes a quick and tasty meatless meal.
Stracciatella with Spinach
An Italian-style egg drop soup with fresh spinach, pasta and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken stock, see notes
- 1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta, or other small cut
- 5 eggs, beaten
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 4 scallions, green tops only, thinly sliced
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Parmigiano-Reggiano for grating
Instructions
- Bring the stock to a boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente, then reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Drizzle the beaten eggs into the simmering stock while stirring continuously. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Add the spinach, parsley and green onions and continue stirring, just until the spinach has wilted. Taste again and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Ladle into soup bowls and grate a generous quantity of Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Add a few grinds of black pepper if desired.
Notes
If you don't have homemade chicken stock, we suggest using low-sodium broth and enhancing the flavor as follows: add 1 clove of garlic, halved lengthwise, along with 2 teaspoons of tomato paste, as you bring the broth to the initial boil. Remove the garlic before adding the pasta.
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You had no semolina in your recipe. Unless the mean by ditalini? I’d love the semolina recipe if available. Thank you
Hi there,
We opted to replace the more traditional semolina with ditalini, but if you’d like to try the semolina version, here’s how: Omit the ditalini and whisk 4 tablespoons of semolina and 8 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano into 6 eggs prior to pouring them into the 8 cups of stock. These instructions come from “La Cucina”, a cookbook compiled by the Italian Academy of Cuisine. According to them this dish is typical of Rome and Lazio. Please note, we have not tested this, but if you try it, let us know how it turns out.
I made this soup but omitted the pasta and added turmeric and ginger. What a soothing chicken soup for when you’re down with a crummy cold!
Nice idea to add turmeric and ginger. Sounds delicious.
EZ/on table 20 min…made tonight, I added 1/2 tsp salt & 2 pinches of nutmeg….creates amazing flavor. Spinach has a diff taste in this soup…Yumm
Would b good for those who are ill, was soothing to my tummy.
Recent gastric bypass…a GREAT fat, hi protein, 0 sugar snack/small meal for me. EXACTLY WHAT MY DIETICIAN WOULD ADVISE . I’ll send recipe to her. TY.
Glad you enjoyed this Ann. The nutmeg is a nice touch. I will try it next time I make it!
This is a super quick and light dinner. Served it with a small salad. Will make again.
Hi Kelli,
This does make a nice, light dinner. I’m glad to hear you liked it.
This looks so interesting. We eat a lot of soup in our house and this looks both tasty and different from the norm. I will bookmark and try this soon. Cheers!