P
Italian · Molise
Cacio e Ova: Zuppa di Pasqua Molisana
The Easter soup of Molise: a clear lamb or chicken broth enriched at the last moment by a stracciatella-like mixture of whole eggs beaten with grated aged Pecorino Molisano, fresh mint, and black pepper, poured in a thread into the simmering broth while stirring. The eggs cook in thin, irregular wisps — neither fully scrambled nor a clear broth. It is the Molisano equivalent of the Roman stracciatella or Greek avgolemono — but without lemon, richer with the sheep's milk pecorino, and perfumed with fresh mint.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the broth
1.5 l
lamb broth (or chicken broth)
well-seasoned, clear, strained — lamb is traditional for Easter
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the egg mixture
4
whole eggs
beaten
Your own market
60 g
Pecorino Molisano
aged, finely grated — not Parmigiano
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
10 g
fresh mint leaves
finely shredded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
black pepper
freshly ground
Your own market
To serve (optional)
4 slices
stale bread
sliced, placed in each bowl before serving — the rustic Molisano tradition
Your own market
20 g
Pecorino Molisano
aged, finely grated, for the table
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Bring the lamb broth to a full simmer in a wide saucepan. Taste and adjust salt: the broth must be fully seasoned at this stage, as the egg mixture will dilute its intensity. Reduce the heat until the surface barely trembles — the broth must be hot but not boiling. Judge by sight: small, lazy bubbles rising at the edge, no violent agitation.
2
Beat the whole eggs thoroughly in a bowl until yolks and whites are fully combined. Add the finely grated Pecorino Molisano, the shredded fresh mint, and the black pepper. Beat again until the mixture is homogenous. The scent of fresh mint should be immediate and pronounced — this is the defining perfume of the dish.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies. With one hand, pour the egg mixture into the barely simmering broth in a fine, steady thread; with the other, stir the broth gently and continuously in a slow circular motion. The egg must meet the hot broth in small quantities at a time — never all at once — so that it cooks into long, irregular, silky wisps rather than lumps or a scrambled mass. The correct result is visible: thin, pale-gold wisps suspended throughout a clear broth, neither collapsed into fragments nor clotted.
4
Remove from heat immediately once all the egg mixture has been incorporated and the wisps have set. Touch the surface gently with a spoon: the wisps should feel barely firm, not rubbery. Serve at once — the egg wisps toughen within minutes if left in the hot broth.
5
If following the rustic Molisano tradition, place a slice of stale bread in each warm bowl before ladling the soup over it. Finish each portion with a grating of aged Pecorino Molisano at the table.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Homemade lamb broth from Easter lamb bones, simmered long and clarified; raw-milk aged Pecorino Molisano sourced from a single Molisano producer; fresh mint harvested the same morning.
02
Estate — Homemade lamb or chicken broth, well-seasoned and strained; good aged Pecorino Molisano from a specialist Italian cheesemonger; fresh mint from a kitchen garden or market.
03
Market — Quality butcher-made broth or careful home chicken broth; commercially produced Pecorino Romano as a substitute where Molisano is unavailable; fresh supermarket mint.
04
House — Good-quality chilled or ambient chicken broth, well-seasoned; Pecorino Romano; fresh mint — the technique remains the same and the result is still nourishing and clean.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The broth surface shows small, lazy bubbles at the edge only — hot but not boiling — before the egg is added.
◇Smell. Fresh mint is immediately perceptible in the beaten egg mixture before it enters the broth.
◇Sight. Pale-gold wisps, long and irregular, are suspended throughout a still-clear broth — not lumps, not fine fragments.
◇Touch. The wisps, touched gently with a spoon, yield with slight resistance — barely firm, not rubbery.
◇Where it lives or dies. The egg mixture must be poured in a fine thread into broth that is hot but not boiling, with continuous gentle stirring — too much heat or too little care at this single moment produces lumps instead of wisps, and the dish cannot be recovered.
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VI
What to Pour
A young, dry Trebbiano or Falanghina from the southern Italian tradition — a white wine with enough acidity to cut the richness of the pecorino-enriched egg without competing with the fresh mint. Alternatively, a light, unoaked lamb-friendly red served slightly cool, in the Molisano pastoral tradition.
The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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