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Straciatella has always been the soup course for any Italian American holiday dinner. But that is not what we ever called it. It was simply "escarole soup." These days you will find many menus that call it “Italian wedding soup.” No one I know ever called It that. In fact, it’s a name I never heard until recently.
 From:
universy.it
The term "Italian Wedding Soup" may come from a loose translation of a very similar soup served at Christmas and Easter called "minestra maritata," "married soup." But "married" refers to the marriage of ingredients not to a wedding - bad translation. For the maritata, the meat is always pork.
From further research I have found that this soup is correctly called "straciatella.” But this word, too, is one that I never heard until recently. Actually, when I was a kid, I really don’t recall any specific name for this soup. I think we just said escarole soup, or as we said it in our broken American Italian, “shka-roll.” After all, my father, a third generation Italian, spoke not a word of the language. “’Scarole soup was not something we had every day. It was seen only on holidays. Escarole soup was the uncontested first course for the Christmas and New Year dinner. It would also make an appearance on Easter Sunday. Outside those holidays, I don’t recall ever having it. If my recollections are correct, this soup was reserved for the most special of all occasions. Perhaps, this is how it acquired the name “Italian wedding soup,” although I recall no wedding where this soup was ever served.
As I mentioned, the Italian name of the soup, “straciatella,” (strah-cha-tell-ah) is also new to me. In Italian the word “straccia” means “rags.” “Straciattella” would then translate to something like “raggedy.” I would assume that the soup takes this name from the raggedy strings formed when the beaten eggs are added to the broth. Now, when you search “straciatella” on either the Italian Google, you will be hard pressed to find a recipe like the one we know in America. Many of the Italian references to straciatella have nothing to do with soup but with gelato, or ice cream. In Italy, a straciatella gelato is a vanilla cream laced with waves of chocolate streams. 
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From what I found on Google.it straciatella soups, are something quite different. Nearly every recipe I found was a simple meat or chicken broth, sometimes with a chopped green, finished with the egg drippings. The Italian recipes were all very basic. found none on Google.it that included the carrots or meatballs or chicken that my family used. It would therefor seem that “scarole” soup that many of us know, is an Italian American invention. What I find curious is just how did this recipe become so quickly widespread among the immigrant population? I’m a Philadelphian. Can we find this same recipe in Boston of Chicago or San Francisco?
image from
http://www.google.it/imgres?q=stracciatella&hl=it&biw=1680&bih=925&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=9z9SckgP93wbPM:&imgrefurl=http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/4124_stracciatellaconpiselli.asp&docid=9f4iBkn743R8dM&imgurl=http://www.buonissimo.org/ricette/images/4124.jpg&w=375&h=273&ei=JofjT-WiLqXs0gHz16HuAw&zoom=1
A small note. The escarole soup can include either a small pasta (pastina) or rice. When my mother makes this, she makes enough for a week. In this case, the rice or pastine are prepared separately and reserved in a side container. The pastine or rice are added to the soup only when it is reheated and served. Otherwise, the rice or pastine will engorge itself in the broth.
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equipment
Large soup pot.
Sharp knife, |
Ingredients
Escarole - one head
Chicken parts : I use backs. Carrots - two or three. Ground beef: less than one pound,. Eggs: two. Parmesan cheese: grated on the side. Pasta: any small variety. The traditional pasta is "acina di peppe" but you can also use "orzo.' Rice is also a possible variation,.
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The ingredients ready
Chopped escarole
Little meat balls. Chicken parts. Sliced carrots, Whipped eggs,' Pastina |
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Chicken stock
Use chicken backs to make a rich stock.
When the chicken is done, remove it and shred the meat with your finger s and return it to the stock. |
Carrots and meatballs
Add the meatballs, and carrots. Let them cook for about ten minutes.
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Escarole (pastina or rice)
Add the escarole and simmer for another ten minutes.
If you are going to use all the soup at one sitting, you can add the pastina or rice at this point and simmer for another five to seven minutes. |
Eggs - the "straccie"
Just before serving drizzle in the beaten egg a few drops at a time and stir them about.
Salt and pepper to taste. |
Garnish with Parmesan and serve
