Everyone knows that soup is one of the most healthy and simple dishes. This treat is present in the menu of cuisines of all nations of the world. Each of us, from childhood, is accustomed to eat soup daily, which contains many useful ingredients for the body. But if you usually spend quite a lot of time on cooking most of the first dishes (for example, Ukrainian borscht is cooked for more than two hours), then cooking Italian soup straccella usually takes no more than half an hour.
A bit of history
Italian cuisine is famous for the fact that out of the simplest and most affordable ingredients, local craftsmen are able to create real culinary masterpieces. Stratchella soup is no exception. Translated from Italian stracciato means "torn", "torn", "torn". Why was such a strange name given to this dish? The fact is that it is made from eggs, which, if they are poured into a boiling broth, form a kind of picturesque "rags". The recipe for straccella soup has come down to us since the time of the Roman Empire.
Acquaintance
Traditionally, straccella soup is prepared on the basis of meat broth. This dish is especially popular in the Italian region of Lazio. At home, the treat is better known as Stracciatella alla romana. To prepare it, beaten eggs are mixed with salt, nutmeg, pepper, grated parmesan, lemon peel, and semolina is sometimes added. The resulting mixture is added, stirring, in boiling meat broth. After the boiling mass is mixed, a small-sized cheese-egg plate is formed in it. From here came the name of the soup, which in translation from Italian means “shreds”. Before serving, straccella soup is usually garnished with grated parmesan and toasted bread. Some chefs prefer flavoring delicacies with marjoram.
Italian strachatella soup: a classic recipe
This recipe for a traditional Italian dish is extraordinary simplicity. The main constituent product is chicken eggs, which later in the process of cooking will turn into some curls, or shreds. This recipe uses a ready-made broth, preferably meat, but we still offer a description of its preparation. We will also use semolina and cheese. All of these ingredients make the soup a hearty meal. The main advantage of this recipe, according to many housewives, is the speed of its preparation.
Ingredients
For the preparation of Italian classic Srachatella soup ”you will need:
- meat broth - 1 l (the preparation of this product is described below);
- semolina - 3 table. spoons;
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- Parmesan cheese - 50 grams;
- nutmeg - one pinch;
- basil - two to three leaves;
- salt;
- Bay leaf;
- ham;
- paprika.
To save time, you can use a ready-made broth (preferably meat, but if you want, you can use saturated vegetable). For cooking, you will need any meat on the bone, in our recipe this is chicken leg.
How to cook the broth yourself? First step
Pour the meat with water (1 liter, you can slightly more). Bring to a boil. As an unpleasant foam forms, we will get rid of it. After the cessation of foam, the fire is reduced, add salt, pepper, bay leaf. Next, cover the saucepan and cook the broth for about fifteen minutes. This time is enough to cook chicken legs. If you cook the broth from any other meat, then it will take more time. We take out the meat from the finished broth and cool it. When using the prepared broth, before adding the ingredients according to the recipe, it should be well heated. Next, proceed to the preparation of the remaining products.
Second step: making soup
Beat eggs with nutmeg, three cheese on a grater, chop the basil. Pour semolina into boiling broth, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly and not covering the pan with a lid. Next, add eggs to the boiling mixture. So that they do not turn into one continuous lump, they should be whipped directly in the water. It is best to use a whisk for this, which stir the broth with semolina in such a way that a kind of funnel is formed. In this funnel, with constant stirring, the egg mixture is poured in a thin stream. In this case, airy egg patches should form. Cook them for about one minute. Next, add cheese (grated) and chopped greens to the pan. Constantly stirring, bring the soup to a boil, after which we turn off the fire, cover the pan with a lid and leave to insist.
Third step: meat preparation
While the soup is infused, let's get meat. It should be thoroughly brushed off the bone, and then cut into suitable pieces.
Fourth step: serve
Pour a small portion of soup into a plate, add meat. For decoration, add a bunch of fresh parsley (curly) and paprika. Curly parsley is very beautiful and perfect for decorating dishes. Paprika does not bring any special taste, but it can give the product an orange-red color, making its appearance more appetizing.
The fifth step: how to serve bread?
Bread is better served in the form of croutons. They are prepared as follows: pieces of bread are rolled in Italian herbs (thyme and rosemary) and olive oil, then they are lightly dried in an oven at low temperature. You can also serve ciabatta for soup - delicious Italian flavored bread. This soup is good in that it does not take much time to cook. In addition, you can experiment with it if you wish. Sometimes fried pieces of bacon, tomatoes, etc. are added to the soup.
Stratella Cheese Tomato Soup: Ingredients
To prepare 1 serving use:
- 35 g of strachatella cheese (it can be replaced with burrata);
- 120 g (5 pcs.) Pelati tomatoes;
- 120 ml of tomato juice;
- 7 ml (1.5 teaspoons) of ginger juice;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 teaspoon of cream;
- one tomato;
- shallots - 2 pcs.;
- 1.5 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil;
- 15 ml (1 tbsp.spoon) of white dry wine;
- 1-2 branches of thyme;
- 3 leaves of basil;
- 1 bruschetta;
- 7 g (1 teaspoon) of sugar;
- 2 drops Tabasco sauce.
Salt and pepper are added to taste.
Cooking
First, in a blender, mix the pelati tomatoes from the jar along with the juice, ginger fresh, tomato juice, garlic, cream and shallots. Next, the mixture is poured into a pan and allowed to boil for three minutes. Finish to taste by adding pepper, salt, pepper and sugar. A little languish over low heat, add drops of Tabasco. Blanch the tomato, peel it, chop it using the concassion technique. Next, a tomato base is prepared. Shallots are chopped, fried in olive oil, add tomato (chopped), pour wine, salt, add sugar (remaining) and chopped garlic. The soup is brought to readiness, at the end put the chopped thyme and basil. The warm mixture is spread on a bruschetta. Straatella cheese is triturated , spread in the center of a deep plate and poured with soup. The surface is sprayed with olive oil and garnished with a basil leaf. Bruschetta coated with tomato paste is served with the soup.
Finally
Stratatella is a soup that you can easily get enough for lunch. The main thing is not to cook it in large quantities. It is best to enjoy this dish immediately after cooking. You can experiment with the recipe by changing it in accordance with your own preferences. This soup may well become one of the most beloved first courses in the family.