Stracciatella: Egg Drop Soup w/ Spinach

You know why I love soup? You can't mess it up. Well maybe you can, but as of yet I haven't figured out how to. For example this soup was delicious, but I originally put some chicken bits in it that didn't really taste that great (actually I think it was the texture that bothered me). So I just fished them out. Don't worry I washed my hands first. So now I have chicken salad and "Italian egg drop soup." That's what Mark Bittman likened this soup to on the Bitten blog Recipe of the Day post yesterday. I'm not sure what is particularly Italian about it, except for the cheese and the name, but it is a great, comforting soup recipe that comes together in no time at all. Perfect for a cold winter night when you are feeling a little under the weather.

Also, I would like to point out that I one-upped Rachel Ray here, and this was a 15 minute meal, served with Greek salad and a wine someone brought as a hostess gift this weekend that was called "Woop Woop"--I kid you not.

That's all I have to say. I'm all talked out after my long narrative yesterday, which apparently amused a lot of people because it has the most views of any post I've ever written, unless you count the Homemade Pepper Spray post, but I don't because I discovered that people were getting sent to it by Google when they were sincerely trying to figure out how to make Homemade Pepper Spray. Something tells me they didn't stick around for long when they realized I just accidentally sauteed some jalapenos.


Stracciatella
Adapted from Bitten blog

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken stock
1 garlic clove
4 eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (I used Romano)
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger
3 to 4 big handfuls of fresh spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
-Put 5 cups of the chicken stock into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
-Wack the garlic clove with the side of a knife and add that to the stock.
-In a mixing bowl, combine the other cup of chicken stock, the eggs, cheese, nutmeg, and ginger and whisk together until completely combined.
-Cut up the spinach into thin strips.
-When the chicken stock comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and add the egg mixture and the spinach and cook until the egg clumps together in small curds and the spinach is wilted.
-Season with salt and pepper and garnish with additional cheese or fresh Italian parsley.

Lemon Chicken and Fresh Spinach

I never liked spinach when I was a kid. I dreaded nights when that was our vegetable because I knew it meant I was going to sit at the table for a long, long time. My mom wasn't very lenient. She didn't say, "Fine, but no dessert." (Actually, dessert was a treat we only occasionally had anyway so that wouldn't have really worked.) She just made us sit there and stare at it. And if cooked frozen spinach was bad warm, it was infinitely worse cold.

It wasn't until college, that I realized that spinach could actually be quite good, if it was fresh. But still wary of anything cooked, I didn't try to cook the fresh spinach until about a year ago. Of course now my mom doesn't really use frozen spinach (my younger brothers have it so easy). And we both buy ridiculously large boxes of organic spinach from Costco, so no matter how much spinach salad I eat, sooner or later, I have to start cooking it. And now I can eat my whole serving no problem, before it even gets cold.

This is really more of an idea for a fast week night meal than it is a recipe, but I did try to measure everything. I served it with whole wheat couscous on the side, which I did make in a separate pot, but on second thought you could really just add the extra chicken broth to the lemon sauce and cook the couscous right in there as well. A one pot meal that doesn't look like it. I'm sneaky like that. Also, this is my favorite way to eat cooked spinach. Good luck serving it to kids.

Lemon Chicken and Fresh Spinach
Serves 2, easily multiplied

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied if they are very thick
flour for dredging
salt/pepper
3 tbs. butter (I use Smart Balance spread, which is not really butter but not really margarine either)
2 tbs. olive oil
juice from two large lemons (this should yield between 1/3 and 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chicken broth, plus extra needed for couscous if adding
several large handfuls of fresh spinach

Directions:
-Heat a large skillet on moderate-high heat ith the butter and the olive oil.
-While it is heating, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour.
-Brown the chicken breasts on both sides in the skillet. When both sides are browned, remove from the skillet and set on paper towels.
-Add the lemon juice and chicken broth to the skillet and bring it to a simmer.
-Put the chicken breasts back into the pot, and simmer for about 5 minutes, turning often so they absorb some of the juices.
-Slide the chicken breasts to the side of the skillet (or remove to a plate if you don't have enough room) and cook the spinach in the lemon sauce. This should only take a few minutes. Cook just until slightly wilted.

NOTE: To cook the couscous in the same pot, remove the chicken breasts after they have simmered in the lemon sauce for five minutes. Add the additional chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Toss in the couscous and stir until it is cooked. This only takes a few minutes. Remove the cous cous with a spoon, and cook the spinach in the remaining juices.