04/08/2026
Chicken stracciatella soup with spinach and parmigiano. One whole chicken gives you the broth and the meat. A lighter way to eat chicken, and the broth freezes as a base you can always fall back on. Made for cold weather.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4) - 1 whole chicken - 3 carrots - 2 sticks celery - 2 medium brown onions - 200g tomatoes, cherry or roma - 2 sprigs rosemary - 2 sprigs thyme - 10 peppercorns - 5 eggs - 200g baby spinach - 100g parmigiano reggiano, grated - salt
METHOD
1. Rinse the chicken. For a deeper flavour, first rub it with a little oil and roast at 240C until golden but not cooked through. Optional, and it will mess up the oven.
2. Sit the chicken in a tall, narrow pot. Add the carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes in large chunks. A little salt, then water to sit 3cm above the chicken.
3. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam. Add the peppercorns and herbs.
4. Lid on but not sealed, simmer very gently for at least 1 hour. Let it cool in the pot another hour if you can.
5. Lift out the chicken and pick the meat for the soup. Strain the stock through a fine sieve. Freeze what you don’t use as a base for next time.
6. Beat the eggs with the parmigiano, salt and pepper.
7. Bring 600 to 700ml of stock to the boil, drop to a simmer, then pour in the egg in a thin stream, stirring, so it tears into ribbons. That is stracciatella, from stracciare, to tear.
8. Add the spinach for a minute, check the seasoning, then finish with the picked chicken.
THE SURPRISE: the parmigiano goes into the eggs, not just on top. Every ribbon carries cheese, and a simple broth ends up tasting like far more than it should. What do you do with leftover poached chicken? Tell me below, just don’t say pasta. Make the stock once, eat well twice. Save this one for a cold night. As simple as that, buon appetito.
