Chef Graziella
Brodetto alla Romagnola
The fish stew of my home coast, where fishermen brought whatever the Adriatic offered and their wives made it into something that needed nothing more than good bread and an appetite.
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Passatelli in Brodo
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Thick strands of breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, and egg pressed directly into simmering broth. From the farmhouses of Romagna, this is the soup that defines home cooking: simple technique, profound comfort.
Soups & Stews
Italian, Romagnol
Comfort Food
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
5 min cook•25 min total
Yield6 servings
In Romagna, the eastern half of Emilia-Romagna that stretches from Bologna to the Adriatic coast, passatelli has been the soup of home for as long as anyone can remember. Farm wives made it from what the kitchen always had: stale bread ground to crumbs, a wedge of the family's Parmigiano, eggs from the chickens, and broth from whatever simmered on the stove. The first useful thing to know about this dish is that it cannot be improved by making it complicated.
The technique is elemental. You mix the crumbs, cheese, and eggs into a soft dough. You press it through a tool with large holes directly into simmering broth. One minute, perhaps two, and it is done. There is no pasta to boil separately, no sauce to prepare, no multiple pots. Everything happens in the broth.
What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. Some add marrow. Some add flour to stretch the dough. These are variations, not requirements. The essential passatelli contains nothing more than what makes it passatelli: breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, eggs, a whisper of nutmeg, and broth that tastes of Sunday. The lemon zest is traditional in some families, heresy in others. I include it because my grandmother did.
Passatelli appears in Romagnol kitchens from at least the 18th century, though its origins likely reach further back. The name derives from 'passare,' to pass through, describing the act of pressing dough through the iron. Every village between Ravenna and Rimini claims its version as authentic, though the arguments are friendly. What unites them all is the understanding that this soup exists to transform humble ingredients into something that tastes of home.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fine dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
1 1/2 cups (about 4 ounces)
freshly grated
large eggs
Quantity
3
nutmeg
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
freshly grated
lemon zest
Quantity
zest of 1 small lemon
finely grated
fine sea salt
Quantity
pinch
homemade meat broth
Quantity
8 cups
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
for serving
freshly grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fine dry breadcrumbs | 1 1/2 cups |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofreshly grated | 1 1/2 cups (about 4 ounces) |
| large eggs | 3 |
| nutmegfreshly grated | 1/4 teaspoon |
| lemon zestfinely grated | zest of 1 small lemon |
| fine sea salt | pinch |
| homemade meat broth | 8 cups |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofreshly grated | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Passatelli iron or potato ricer with large holes
- •Large pot for broth
- •Box grater with fine holes
Instructions
- 1
Combine the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add the nutmeg and lemon zest. Toss with your hands until evenly distributed. The mixture should smell faintly of cheese and citrus. This is your foundation.
- 2
Form the dough
Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. Pour them over the breadcrumb mixture. Add a small pinch of salt. Work the mixture with your hands, pressing and kneading until it comes together into a soft, pliable dough. The dough should hold its shape when squeezed but not crack at the edges. If it crumbles, add another egg yolk. If it feels sticky, add a tablespoon more breadcrumbs.
The dough benefits from resting ten minutes, covered, before pressing. This allows the breadcrumbs to absorb the eggs fully, creating more tender passatelli. - 3
Heat the broth
Bring the meat broth to a steady simmer in a large pot. The broth should bubble gently, not boil violently. Violent boiling breaks the passatelli apart. Taste your broth now, before the passatelli go in. Season it properly. The passatelli absorb the flavor of the broth, so it must taste right.
- 4
Press the passatelli
Working directly over the simmering broth, press the dough through a passatelli iron or potato ricer with large holes. The strands should fall directly into the broth in pieces about two inches long. Use a knife to cut them as they emerge. Work quickly. The dough firms as it cools.
A potato ricer with the disk containing the largest holes works adequately. A food mill with the largest disk works less well but will do. Whatever tool you use, the strands must be thick, not thin like spaghetti. - 5
Cook briefly
The passatelli cook in one to two minutes. They are done when they float to the surface and look slightly swollen. Do not overcook them. Overcooked passatelli become mushy and begin to dissolve into the broth. This is a disaster. Remove the pot from heat the moment they float.
- 6
Serve immediately
Ladle the passatelli and broth into warmed soup bowls. Pass freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table. The soup must be served immediately. It cannot wait. The passatelli continue to absorb liquid and will swell unpleasantly if left sitting. Call your family to the table before you press the dough.
Chef Tips
- •The broth is not negotiable. Bouillon cubes produce passatelli that taste like bouillon cubes. Use homemade broth from chicken, beef, or ideally capon. The broth does most of the work.
- •Grate the Parmigiano yourself on the finest holes of a box grater. Pre-grated cheese from a container lacks the moisture and fat that bind the dough properly.
- •The breadcrumbs must be fine and dry. Toast stale bread in a low oven until completely dried, then grind in a food processor. Commercial breadcrumbs often contain seasonings that corrupt the flavor.
- •Press only as much dough as will fit in one batch. If you must work in batches, remove the first passatelli with a slotted spoon to warmed bowls before pressing the second batch.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made up to four hours ahead and refrigerated, tightly wrapped. Bring to room temperature before pressing.
- •The broth can be made days ahead and refrigerated, or months ahead and frozen. This is, in fact, how most home cooks approach the dish: broth from the freezer, dough made fresh.
- •Do not attempt to cook the passatelli ahead. They cannot be reheated. They cannot wait. This is a dish that demands you work backward from the moment you want to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 350g)
Calories
255 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
5 g
Cholesterol
110 mg
Sodium
920 mg
Total Carbohydrates
14 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
22 g
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