Italy's status as a home of pasta has already been shattered by firm evidence that China figured out noodles first; here's another Italian recipe with suspicious resemblance to an ubiquitous Chinese dish. Draw your own conclusions.

Stracciatella alla romana
aka Roman Egg Drop Soup
aka Rag soup

Lovely set of names, innit?

Required Ingredients

  • 0.5L (2 cups) strong beef broth
    • This largely determines the taste of the soup, so please don't use a bouillon cube. Readymade/homemade stock would be best, fonds aren't bad either.
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp Parmesan
Optional Ingredients

There are infinite variations on the theme, and stracciatella outside Rome tends to involve spinach and chicken broth. A vegetarian variant with herbs can be found under Stracciatella (herb and egg soup).

Suggested Instructions

  1. If using garlic, slice them up and fry them in a pot at low heat. Do not allow them to brown or burn.
  2. Add broth and tomato. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  3. In a separate dish, break the egg and whisk it together with the Parmesan. Drizzle it slowly into the pot, using a fork to stir it up.
  4. Chop fresh herbs and add them on top.
Serving

Makes a nice appetizer for 4 without the tomato, and a filling winter meal for 2 with tomato and some fresh bread on the side.

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