The Roman-style Stracciatella

The indissoluble bond with one's gastronomic traditions is renewed mainly during the festive season when people share the pleasures of good food seated around a beautifully laid table surrounded by the love of their dearest ones.

Stracciatella is one of the dishes that best represent the true essence of Christmas with the family in Rome: a genuine and humble comfort food, yet tasty and nutritious, that when it comes steaming to the table, envelops the senses and the palate with its spicy perfume and characteristic flavour.

Narrated by artists, poets, and writers and celebrated worldwide, traditional Roman cuisine is made from poor ingredients masterfully combined to create surprising dishes that providing the necessary sustenance for the poorer classes in Papal Rome.

Stracciatella is no exception. It was born to reuse leftover meat broth from meals in the days leading up to Christmas with a few other ingredients such as eggs, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and lemon zest. The name of this delicious and fragrant soup is very evocative and derives from the cooking of the eggs in the boiling broth, which, stirred with a whisk or fork, separate into soft and tasty flakes.

Let's see how to prepare it.

To serve an excellent Stracciatella, you have to start with the meat broth to boil, according to the traditional recipe, with vegetables and herbs - a potato, an onion, a stalk of celery, and a clove of garlic - and your favourite cuts of meat - muscle, brisket, beef knee and chicken - which give it that strong and special flavour.

Wash, clean, and chop the vegetables and place them in a deep saucepan. Add the cleaned and rinsed meat and then cover it with cold water. Cook on medium-high heat for about two hours; when the broth has reduced to half, add a further litre of water and keep simmering for about an hour on low heat.

Once cooked, filter the broth through a strainer to obtain a clear liquid. Salt and set aside.

The recipe

Ingredients
Four eggs
1 litre of meat broth
100 grams grated Parmesan cheese
Lemon zest
Nutmeg
Fine salt

Procedure

In a bowl, beat the whole eggs, add the grated Parmesan cheese, and then the nutmeg. Add salt to taste and mix all the ingredients with a whisk to obtain an even consistency.

Slowly pour the eggs into the boiling meat stock, stirring for a few seconds for the eggs to 'scramble' and leave on medium heat for about five minutes. Once the Stracciatella has come to the boil again, stir until it thickens.

Add extra freshness and a peculiar flavour note by grating lemon zest over your soup.

Serve steaming hot, and enjoy!

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Photo: Redazione Web Turismo Roma