5 Ingredients or Fewer

Passatelli in Broth

May  1, 2012
5
2 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes


Passatelli is a rustic Italian pasta meets German spatzle, noodle/dumpling made of breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, eggs, nutmeg & lemon zest. Found on dinner tables across Le Marche & Emilia Romagna, passatelli is best served in chicken broth but can also be dressed with sauce. (Some recipes call for no flour, others just a handful - this is a hotly debated topic even within Le Marche.)
I love pasta, I love bread, I love cheese and I love passatelli!

It may not look pretty but it is surprisingly light with a nice bite, and a lovely nutty flavor from the parmesan & nutmeg. —La Tavola Marche

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Ingredients
  • 6 eggs
  • 250 g grated parmesan
  • 250 g breadcrumbs
  • 50 g flour
  • nutmeg
  • lemon zest
  • 2.5 liters broth
Directions
  1. Beat the eggs in a bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients including the nutmeg & lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the breadcrumb mixture bowl, pour in the beaten eggs and mix together to form a dough.
  3. After that push the dough through the passatelli press directly into simmering broth. (Note: If you are making this to serve with sauce, allow it dry on the board for a few minutes.)
  4. Allow to cook for a couple minutes in the simmering broth. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan over top.

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6 Reviews

Marigi March 14, 2022
My mum is from Pesaro, and this is a staple for me! I make them with fish & seafood for Christmas Eve and with simple broth at least once a week (even in the summer). I skip the flour, but that depends a lot on the ingredients (the type of bread, especially, changes things a lot, I find). The lemon zest makes a huge difference!
Karen M. March 21, 2013
I am SOOOOO EXCITED!!
I have been making my great grandmothers soup for over 33 years with this EXACT recipe. I make it every year for Easter as she did. I still have her grinder to make the noodles! I have never met another person who knew what it was or had ever even heard of it...and I never knew how to spell it as my grandmother never wrote the name in Italian....just jotted down what was in her memory for me those long years ago!
Thank you!
Pinky Murphy ( formally Arnone )
La T. May 13, 2012
Thanks mrslarkin! It's a great recipe & soo delicious! Is your mom from Le Marche?
mrslarkin May 1, 2012
What a great recipe! You beat me to it, in fact. I've been testing my mom's passatelli recipe for the past couple of weeks. They are not as good as my mom's, but still very delicious. Thanks for sharing.
La T. May 13, 2012
Thanks mrslarkin! Is your mom from Le Marche? The recipe varies slightly depending on what part of Marche/Emilia Romagna your from...Enjoy!!
mrslarkin May 13, 2012
Mom and dad are from San Marino.

P.S. Your blog is beautiful!