Seasonal Recipe Box: Spring

Stracciatella: Roman Egg-drop Soup

(a quick after-work, get-to-bed early, plenty-of-protein soup)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups or so chicken broth
• a leaf or two of swiss chard, spinach or other leafy green
• an egg
• good parmesan cheese
• sea salt or fish sauce
• black pepper
• nutmeg

Procedure:

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small pan. Season with fish sauce or salt to taste. Chop chard leaf finely and add to boiling broth.

Grate parmesan on the finest grater you have (it's best to get it as close to 'powder' as possible) until you have about a tablespoon, or use pre-grated parmesan if you have that around. In a bowl, whisk the egg together with the parmesan cheese.

Beat the soup with the whisk while you pour in the egg mixture in a thin stream. The egg should cook immediately.

Pour the soup into the bowl, grind some black pepper on top, grate some nutmeg on top, and eat. Accompany with generously buttered good sourdough bread if you have it.

Serves 1 tired working stiff.