Stracciatella (Italian: [strattʃaˈtɛlla]; in Italian, a diminutive derived from the verb stracciare ('to shred')), also known as stracciatella alla romana, is an Italian soup consisting of meat broth and small shreds of an egg-based mixture, prepared by drizzling the mixture into boiling broth and stirring. It is popular around Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. A similar soup, called zanzarelli, was described by Martino da Como in his 15th century manual The Art of Cooking. Other variants exist.
 | |
| Type | Soup |
|---|---|
| Course | Primo |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | |
| Main ingredients | Meat broth, beaten egg |
Description edit
Traditionally stracciatella alla romana used to be served at the start of Easter lunches.[1][2] Stracciatella alla romana is traditionally prepared by beating eggs and mixing in grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, lemon zest, and sometimes semolina; this mixture is then gently drizzled into boiling meat broth, while stirring so as to produce little shreds (stracciatelle) of cooked egg in the soup.[3] The resulting soup can be served in bowls containing a few thin slices of toasted bread, with additional parmesan grated on top.[2]
According to Ada Boni, stracciatella alla romana used also to be scented with marjoram.[2] Other traditional Italian and Italian-American recipes suggest garnishing with chopped parsley.[4][5][self-published source] Some American variations of the soup incorporate spinach as a main ingredient.[6][7]
A recipe for a spicy soup made with eggs and broth that bears similarities to the modern-day stracciatella was recorded as early as the 15th century by Martino da Como in his Libro de Arte Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking) under the name of zanzarelli.[8][n 1] The traditional preparation of stracciatella is also rather similar to that of sciusceddu, a rich festive soup from Messina, Sicily, that may be a cousin of the Roman dish.[9][n 2]
Legacy edit
Stracciatella soup inspired the gelato flavour of the same name, which was created in 1961 by a restaurateur in the northern town of Bergamo, who claimed he had grown tired of stirring eggs into broth to satisfy customers from Rome.[11]
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Martino worked in Rome for some time for Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan, a purveyor of lavish banquets. As translated by Jeremy Parzen, Martino's recipe for zanzarelli reads: "To make ten servings: take eight eggs and a half libra of grated cheese, and a grated loaf of bread and mix together. Then take a pot of meat broth made yellow with saffron and place over heat; and when it begins to boil, pour the mixture into a pot and stir with a spoon. When the dish has begun to thicken, remove from heat and serve in bowls, topped with spices." A "green" variant of the soup omits the saffron.[8]
- ^ Another soup dish traditionally served at Easter, sciusceddu (also known as sciuscellu or ciuscello) is prepared by dropping a mixture of beaten eggs and sieved ricotta cheese into broth containing small meatballs made with minced veal, caciocavallo cheese, breadcrumbs and parsley.[9][10]
References edit
- ^ Facaros, Dana; Pauls, Michael (2003). Central Italy. London: Cadogan Guides. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-86011-112-9.
- ^ a b c Boni, Ada (1985). "Stracciatella alla romana". In Giaquinto, Maria Matilde (ed.). La cucina regionale. Rome: Newton Compton. p. 92.
- ^ "Stracciatella". La cucina del Bel Paese. Touring Club Italiano, Accademia Italiana Della Cucina (in Italian). Touring Editore. 2003. p. 179. ISBN 978-88-365-2957-5. In English: La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy. Rizzoli Publications. 2009. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-8478-3147-0.
- ^ Spagni, Silvia (2010). "Stracciatella". L'arte di cucinare alla romana (in Italian). Newton Compton Editori. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-88-541-2879-8.
- ^ Melfi, Rick (2011). "Stracciatella". The Food Pusher's Cookbook: Recollections and Recipes of an Italian American Tradition. Xlibris Corporation. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4567-6950-5.
- ^ Costikyan, Barbara (11 February 1980). "Beautiful Soup". New York Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ Lehrer, Silvia. "Ragged Egg and Spinach Soup". From Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island's East End by Silvia Lehrer (Running Press Book Publishers, 2011). SplendidTable.org. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ a b Ballerini, Luigi; Barzini, Stefania; Parzen Jeremy, eds. (2005). "Zanzarelli". The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book. University of California Press. pp. 64, 151. ISBN 978-0-520-92831-2.
- ^ a b Coria, Giuseppe (2008). Sicily: Culinary Crossroads. New York, New York: Oronzo Editions. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-9797369-3-3.
- ^ "Sciusceddu". La cucina del Bel Paese. Touring Club Italiano, Accademia Italiana Della Cucina (in Italian). Touring Editore. 2003. p. 176. ISBN 978-88-365-2957-5. In English: La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy. Rizzoli Publications. 2009. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-8478-3147-0.
- ^ "Lutto nel mondo della ristorazione – È morto Enrico Panattoni". L'Eco di Bergamo (in Italian). 4 October 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2016.