Roman Egg Drop Soup Recipe (2024)

Pro tip: This scales down to single-serving size (or any number, really) beautifully. Just heat up enough broth for one (or however many you're serving), then whip up one egg (per person) with grated cheese to achieve the texture of cake batter (as the article suggests). Throw in a dash of fish sauce and some nutmeg and pepper and boom, perfect soup for one. Speaking from experience, reheating eggy soups like this is not nice, so it's best to just make however much you plan to eat.

There appear to be finely sliced green onions in the photo accompanying this recipe. The use of green onions is not included in the recipe, but I'm willing to bet they add a lovely touch of onion-y goodness so I wanted to add this note so others see that it's a viable add in along with the parsley. I have not made this recipe as written, though I've made similar ones. Green onions add lovely crunch and freshness to most chicken based dishes, soups especially.

Nutmeg! it was my Nonna's secret ingredient in everything! always a pleasant surprise & kept everyone guessing. I put it in everything to this day. the trick is to know just how big a pinch. can't wait to make this!

Wonderful recipe... resist the recommendation to add fish sauce... I am so grateful that I added a teaspoon of it to a single bowl... just awful. Cook as written and you will be rewarded with a wonderful bowl of goodness.

The Times article also recommended a few spashes of fish sauce to bump the flavor - that and some extra ground black pepper.

Our local Italian restaurant includes spinach. It is wonderful.

With the addition of Spinach , small meatballs ,veal or whatever this becomes Italian wedding soup

Absolutely agree George. No Italian I know, and I grew up in the Bronx's little Italy with parents who emigrated from Italy, and fish sauce was never an ingredient in any dish in our household. This soup is fine as is, can add some chopped spinach if you wish, but leave a good thin alone. I sometimes wonder where Sam comes up with these things ... fish sauce in an Italian soup? NEVER!

Red Boat 40°N Fish Sauce is good favorite staple for the kitchen. While it has the highest sodium level I've seen - it doesn't taste salt, nor does it have an overpowering fish taste. Used sparingly ... it's fabulous Unami for most dishes.

Where in the recipe is there anything mentioned about fish sauce?

My family adds grated bread crumbs and nutmeg to the eggs (made from good dry bread, not the stuff in a can) and nutmeg. Don't stir it too much once you add it to the broth to create the fat, lumpy pieces. It's the Italian version of Matzo ball soup.

Carol Plantamura,Add spinach, 3ozs per person and 1/4 cup orzo pasta per person when the soup is boiling again for a complete, one dish, nourishing meal.

Many moons ago my mom would make this for me as a special treat, using every ingredient above except the Parmesan--that or any other grated cheese hadn't yet become part of her culinary vocabulary. She'd grown up in northern Germany, where it was called Eier Einlauf Suppe (literally "Egg Pour-In Soup"). She did, however, sometimes toss in a handful of chiffonaded spinach to wilt in the almost-finished dish. Pure comfort food then and now!

can someone recommend a "really good fish sauce"??

Red Boat is my favorite and is preferred by many. It's more expensive but worth it.

Hmmm... Fish sauce is not just East Asian. The fish sauce suggestion is based on using a very old European cooking ingredient called "garum" which was very popular in ancient Rome and Greece. Garum is a fermented fish sauce. You can make garum using fresh-caught fish and non-iodized salt. It takes around eight weeks to ferment. I have used a tiny bit of mashed anchovy instead.

I make this every time someone in my family is sick.

I called my grandmother for her Slovenian version of this recipe. It starts with a roux, paprika, warm stock, fresh lemon juice, and well-beaten egg for very thin tendrils, finish with salt and parsley. A little thicker and zippier than this version.

Simply wonderful. I added a few snipped chives and served the soup with freshly baked bread with good quality salted butter. Loved how quickly this came together.

My Italian mother in law (from Genoa) used to make this without the grated cheese, and therefore lower calorie but also delicious. I thought the grated parmesan here was an improvement, but a bit richer. She also added a dash of Marsala wine and bay leaves for flavor, which taste fantastic.

Fermented fish sauce was a Roman staple. Rome of the Republic. Called garum, it was fermented fish and salt. Sometimes oregano was added. It was strained and the resultant liquid was added to dishes.

A college friend from Bologna taught me this recipe years ago, and also made a variant that started with sauteeing onion and zucchini for a little more veggie oomph. Both versions are delicious.

Awesome recipes! No need for any alterations except the pic has green onion and it is a nice addition! I’d recommend as other have said to make just enough for a serving or two otherwise you end up with way too much.

Instead of fish sauce, I would use a couple of drops of anchovy coloratura. It is a magical bit of umami, available from Gustiamo (gustiamo.com) who import quality food from Sicily.

Always fun to revisit old faves and read—and learn from—others’ comments. In this instance, though, another old line applies: “Ya gotta draw a line somewhere!” As a longtime user of Red Boat fish sauce, I’d do so BEFORE this recipe! Let’s please remember its title is Roman Egg Drop Soup—salt and Parm provide all the saltiness it needs!

This was so quick, easy and delicious. I also added in shredded chicken breast, which I happened to have in the fridge, to make it more filling and it was amazing. As someone else suggested, I also topped with green onions and parsley before serving, it was excellent.

Make sure to add fresh grated Parmesan, otherwise the egg will become grainy and not have the silky consistency you want with this soup. Definitely add fish sauce; I like to add a little vegetable bouillon for more depth. Tasty and comforting, the lemon zest and nutmeg are the perfect complements to take this to gourmand heights!

How do you get the broth clear?

Really good! Better than expected: listened to the comments and added greens, and also some angel hair for a little more substance. I also subbed bouillon for the broth—would do it again!

This made for a very fast lunch using homemade stock from yesterday. Like other reviewers I use Red Boat fish sauce to season my soups, instead of salt. It adds more depth of flavor. After the egg mixture, I stirred in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach that needed to be used up. Delicious and comforting on a snowy May 1st in Upper Michigan.