Stracciatella alla Romana

In Italian cooking, there is no cream of anything soup. This is an American invention that has nothing to do with how Italians eat. What Italians do make, and have made for generations, are broths enriched with simple additions: a beaten egg, a grating of cheese, a handful of pasta. Stracciatella is perhaps the purest expression of this tradition.

The name means "little rags," and that is exactly what you will see when you make it correctly. The egg mixture, poured in a thin stream into simmering broth while you stir with a fork, sets into delicate shreds that float like wisps of silk. The Parmigiano melts into the broth, lending richness without weight. The nutmeg provides a whisper of warmth.

This is the soup Roman mothers make when someone is unwell. It is the soup you eat after a long day when you want comfort without labor. It takes fifteen minutes from start to table, and nearly all of that time is just heating the broth. Simple does not mean easy, but in this case, it comes close.