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Straciatella

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on June 23, 2009

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Straciatella

Ingredients

2 quarts chicken stock (see note)4 large eggs ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, or parsley leaves, finely choppedPinch nutmeg, freshly gratedSalt and ground black pepper

Before You Begin

Straciatella is a sort of frittata soup: chicken stock with bits of Parmesan and egg floating in it. We recommend using homemade chicken broth in this recipe, such as our Quick Chicken Stock or All-Purpose Chicken Stock. Fresh basil is a nice addition, but parsley works equally well.

Instructions

  1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the eggs, cheese, basil, and nutmeg together with fork in a medium bowl.
  2. Stir the stock with a fork so it is moving in a circle. Keep stirring as you pour the egg mixture into the stock in a slow, steady stream so that shreds of coagulated egg form, about 1 minute. Let the eggs stand in the stock without mixing until they are set, less than 1 minute. Once they have set, break up the egg pieces with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Straciatella

Straciatella

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

2 quarts chicken stock (see note)
4 large eggs
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, or parsley leaves, finely chopped
Pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
Salt and ground black pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 quarts chicken stock (see note)
4 large eggs
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, or parsley leaves, finely chopped
Pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
Salt and ground black pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 quarts chicken stock (see note)
4 large eggs
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, or parsley leaves, finely chopped
Pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
Salt and ground black pepper

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

For the best straciatella recipe, one that produced a simple and delicious chicken soup with bits of Parmesan-flavored egg, we found that using a fork rather than a whisk to add the beaten eggs to the soup was the most effective way to shape the egg mixture into elongated, shredded rectangles. We wanted color in the straciatella recipe, but found that spinach and chard made the soup too bulky while chopped fresh basil or parsley added a pleasing color and perfumed the stock nicely.

Before You Begin

Straciatella is a sort of frittata soup: chicken stock with bits of Parmesan and egg floating in it. We recommend using homemade chicken broth in this recipe, such as our Quick Chicken Stock or All-Purpose Chicken Stock. Fresh basil is a nice addition, but parsley works equally well.

Instructions

  1. Bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the eggs, cheese, basil, and nutmeg together with fork in a medium bowl.
  2. Stir the stock with a fork so it is moving in a circle. Keep stirring as you pour the egg mixture into the stock in a slow, steady stream so that shreds of coagulated egg form, about 1 minute. Let the eggs stand in the stock without mixing until they are set, less than 1 minute. Once they have set, break up the egg pieces with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

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Key Equipment

Equipment

All-Purpose Whisks

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