Passatelli in brodo

Some recipes come with a story attached, and my passatelli in brodo will always taste like my friend’s kitchen, where her Italian grandmother waved us to the table with a wooden spoon and an “I make you something special.” She was right.

Passatelli are rustic dumplings from Emilia-Romagna made of just breadcrumbs, eggs and Parmigiano Reggiano, pressed through wide holes straight into simmering meat broth. Three minutes later they float, and dinner is served.

It is peasant food elevated by good ingredients: real Parmigiano, fresh eggs, a proper homemade broth. Nonna’s trick was the lemon zest and nutmeg in the dough — barely detectable, completely essential.

Passatelli in Brodo Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus optional resting) · Cook time: 20 minutes · Total: 40 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~364 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 eggs (about 6 oz)
• 1¼ cups (5 oz) breadcrumbs
• 1 cup (3.5 oz) grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Nutmeg, to taste
• Fine salt, to taste
• 4 cups meat broth
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare a good meat broth and keep it at a gentle simmer.
2. Zest the lemon, avoiding the bitter white pith.
3. Beat the eggs briefly with a pinch of salt.
4. In a larger bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and Parmigiano; add the flour, lemon zest and nutmeg.
5. Add the eggs and mix — first with a spatula, then by hand — working until the dough is consistent and elastic.
6. Use immediately, or rest it wrapped in plastic for 15 minutes to 2 hours.
7. Press pieces of dough through a potato ricer with holes at least ¼ inch wide, directly into the gently simmering broth.
8. Cook about 3 minutes, until the passatelli float. Serve immediately, very hot.

Recipe Notes

• Chicken broth works beautifully if you have no meat broth.
• Grana Padano or a mild Pecorino can stand in for Parmigiano, each nudging the flavor its own way.
• The dough should hold together without crumbling — adjust with a few more breadcrumbs or a drop of egg.
• A special passatelli iron is traditional, but a sturdy potato ricer does the job perfectly.