Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Stracciatella Soup

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Nanny was great at using leftovers to make an entirely new meal. She was a big fan of adding an egg to soups or pasta for extra flavor and as she always said "to give you strength". I used some of the leftover ingredients from the bakespace challenge to make an incredibly hearty soup that Nanny would be proud of. This recipe just came to me in a dream. I'm not kidding. I woke up several times throughout the night because I was so excited about the soup. I don't have an exact recipe with measurements since I used leftovers but feel free to change this up however you like. In my mind this is a kicked up stracciatella soup (roman egg drop soup).

I sauteed onions, celery and carrots in extra virgin olive oil until they were tender. Then I added water and chicken bouillon and the rind from a hunk of parmigiano reggiano cheese. When that came to a boil I added the spinach, some shredded rotisserie chicken and a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce. That's a trick my mom always does to add some color to soups and stews. We usually use very small cans of Del Monte tomato sauce but this time I had some in my fridge that I already made myself. In a seperate bowl I beat two eggs with some grated locatelli romano cheese. I lowered the heat and beat in the egg and cheese mixture in a slow stream to create little egg "rags". This is similar to the look of chinese egg drop soup but without the thickness you get from the cornstarch. I then cooked some tortellini right in the pot with the soup and veggies.

Hearty and delicious!

5 comments:

Sophie said...

Wow, Michele! A recipe that came to you in a dream? That's too cool. This does look pretty awesome...that grandma of yours sounds like she was too cute :). I love that she used leftovers to make soup, too! Great idea.

This looks so warm, definitely comfort food! I really missed out on the challenge :(! Is there another one coming up?

Michele said...

I know, pretty crazy, huh? Maybe it came from my grandmother. lol

There was a new challenge posted yesterday and this one is going to be a little more difficult! Check it out!!!

A.C. said...

Mm, I have a roman egg soup that I make myself for lunch sometimes with spinach and roasted pepper and pasta! This looks delicious! (And who doesn't like making use of leftovers!?!)
Thanks for stopping by my blog... I'll be back :)

Lucy..♥ said...

WOW!! I don't believe I've had this soup in ages!

Mom would make this soup often, but she's no longer w/us.. I can not believe I had forgotten about this soup... thanks ;-)

Wonderful dream... my Dad came to my dreams one evening, & gave me an education on a flower he adored.. but I only knew of them very tall.. after some research I found that I could get mini's of them... so I plant them for him.... hope he can see them ;-)

Unknown said...

I did see the soup recipe and Im not a fan of eggs in soup but man that soup and picture and recipe may make me change that opinion. looked so good for a nice winter hearty soup. I felt like a child being hugged by its mother when I looked at that picture. So warm and safe and inviting so I can imagine what actually tasting it would be like.