Passatelli

A dough of breadcrumbs and parmesan with no flour, pressed into broth.

Beef, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains beef, parmesan whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 200 g fine dry breadcrumbs
• 200 g parmesan, finely grated
• 3 eggs
• nutmeg
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.2 litres clear beef broth
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan — roughly equal by weight, which is the whole balance — with the nutmeg, zest and salt.
2. Work in the eggs to a firm dough. THERE IS NO FLOUR IN THIS AT ALL: the bread and the cheese are the structure, which is why it tastes of parmesan rather than of pasta.
3. Rest it 30 minutes, covered. If it is sticky add crumbs, if it crumbles add a yolk.
4. PRESS IT THROUGH A POTATO RICER with wide holes, or a passatelli iron, straight over the simmering broth, cutting the strands off at about 4 cm with a knife.
5. They are thick, rough and short — nothing like a piped batter and nothing like the shreds a stracciatella makes when egg is whisked into broth.
6. Cook 2 to 3 minutes in the barely simmering broth. They rise when done and fall apart at a rolling boil.
7. Serve in the broth with more parmesan.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes