Stracciare means “to rip to shreds” in Italian, and, indeed, that is how this soup looks after stirring some beaten eggs with some grated cheese in a good chicken broth. Once you have a good chicken broth the rest is easy. Stracciatella is usually served with shredded spinach and beaten egg, but I recall having it with just egg and cheese when spinach was not in season. In the Italy that I grew up in, seasons made a difference, not only in how we dressed, but in what we ate. This a great restorative soup, used in most Italian families.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 CUPS DEFATTED HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK (recipe)
- 1 1/4 TEASPOONS KOSHER SALT
- 4 CUPS PACKED SPINACH LEAVES, SHREDDED
- 4 LARGE EGGS
- 1/3 CUP GRATED GRANA PADANO, PLUS MORE FOR SERVING
- FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium pot, bring stock to a simmer with 1 teaspoon salt. Once stock is simmering, add spinach and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, grated cheese, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Once spinach is tender, add about 1/3 of the egg mixture to the soup, while continuously whisking, to make shreds of eggs. Add remaining eggs in 2 more batches, letting the soup return to a boil between additions. Once all of the eggs have been added, bring soup to a final boil and use the whisk to break up any large clusters of eggs. Serve soup with additional grated cheese.