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Soup season · Rome, Italy
The best bowl in Rome: Broccoli and skate soup
A clear broth made from skate, with Roman broccoli, broken spaghetti and a little tomato, chili and garlic.
Romans eat it on Christmas Eve, the night with no meat, and the old trattorias cook it all winter. It's getting rare; finding it is half the pleasure.
Checco er Carettiere
Via Benedetta 10, 00153 Rome
Get: Minestra di broccoli e arzilla, then the carbonara or amatriciana
Una minestra di broccoli e arzilla, per favore.The broccoli and skate soup, please.
A Trastevere family trattoria since 1935, now in its third generation; Gambero Rosso calls its arzilla soup a must in season, when few others still make it.
Winter, and above all the weeks around Christmas Eve.
Make it at home
Minestra di broccoli e arzilla
Skate gives a delicate, gelatinous broth in under an hour. Ask the fishmonger for skate wing on the bone; flounder or monkfish heads work if skate isn't sold near you.
You need
- 1 1/2 lb (700 g) skate wing on the cartilage
- 1 small onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 garlic clove, a few parsley stems
- 7 cups (1.7 l) cold water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 head Roman (romanesco) broccoli or regular broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 small dried chili, crumbled
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
- 1 cup (240 g) canned peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 4 oz (115 g) spaghetti, broken into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
How to make it
- Put the skate in a pot with the onion, celery, garlic, parsley stems, cold water and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook gently 25 minutes, until the flesh lifts easily off the cartilage.
- Lift out the skate. Pull the flesh into flakes and set aside. Return the cartilage to the broth and simmer 20 minutes more for body, then strain. You should have about 5 cups.
- In a clean pot, warm the oil with the sliced garlic, chili and anchovies over medium-low heat, stirring until the anchovies melt and the garlic is pale gold, 3 minutes.
- Add the wine and let it bubble away, 1 minute, then the tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cook 5 minutes, then the broken spaghetti; cook 8 to 10 minutes until the pasta is tender.
- Return the flaked skate, warm through for 1 minute, and taste for salt. Serve hot with a thread of olive oil.
Pans and tools
- 2 medium pots
- fine sieve
Chef's tips
- Keep it brothy; the pasta drinks liquid, so add a ladle of hot water if it thickens.
- Skate should smell of the sea, never of ammonia.
Four more bowls in Rome
Pasta and chickpea soup
Thick chickpea soup with rosemary and garlic, with short pasta cooked right in it: the Roman Tuesday and Friday dish.
Armando al Pantheon · Salita de' Crescenzi 31, 00186 Roma
Get: Pasta e ceci (on its day), then the abbacchio
Una pasta e ceci, per favore.A pasta and chickpeas, please.
The Gargioli family has cooked Roman classics a few steps from the Pantheon for over fifty years. Book.
Roman trattorie keep a weekly calendar: pasta e ceci is usually Tuesday or Friday.
Make it at home: Roman pasta e ceci
Romans like it so thick that the spoon nearly stands. An anchovy melted in the oil is the secret.
You need
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, plus more to finish
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cans (14 oz / 400 g each) chickpeas, drained (or 1 1/2 cups dried, soaked and cooked)
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) water or vegetable broth
- 6 oz (170 g) ditalini or broken spaghetti
- Salt, black pepper, chile flakes, pecorino
How to make it
- Warm the oil with the garlic, anchovies and rosemary and cook gently until the anchovies melt and the garlic is golden. Remove the garlic and rosemary.
- Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then add the chickpeas and water. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Blend about a third of the soup (or mash with a potato masher) and return it.
- Bring back to a boil, season and add the pasta. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the soup is thick, about 10 minutes.
- Rest 5 minutes and serve with olive oil, pepper and pecorino.
Chef's tips
- The soup keeps thickening: loosen leftovers with water.
Roman egg-drop soup
Eggs, Parmigiano and nutmeg beaten into boiling broth so they set into soft rags: Rome's Easter and winter soup.
Trattoria Da Cesare al Casaletto · Via del Casaletto 45, 00151 Roma
Get: Stracciatella when it's on, the fried gnocchi, and the cacio e pepe
Una stracciatella, per favore.An egg-drop soup, please.
Katie Parla calls it the best trattoria in Rome: Leonardo Vignoli's Roman cooking at the end of the tram line.
Ask; soups are on in cold weather.
Make it at home: Stracciatella alla romana
Five minutes from pot to bowl if you have good broth. Stir slowly so the eggs make big soft rags.
You need
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) homemade chicken or beef broth
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup (50 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve
- 2 tbsp fine semolina or dry breadcrumbs
- A grating of nutmeg, zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
- Salt, black pepper, chopped parsley
How to make it
- Bring the broth to a boil and season it well.
- Beat the eggs with the cheese, semolina, nutmeg and lemon zest.
- Lower the broth to a steady simmer and pour in the eggs in a thin stream, stirring slowly with a fork in one direction.
- Simmer 1 minute without stirring, until the eggs set into rags. Serve with parsley, pepper and more cheese.
Chef's tips
- Add a handful of spinach just before the eggs for a greener version.
Pasta and beans
Borlotti beans, pancetta and tomato with short pasta, in the Roman version, eaten in Trastevere.
Da Enzo al 29 · Via dei Vascellari 29, 00153 Roma
Get: Pasta e fagioli or whatever soup is on, then the carbonara
Una pasta e fagioli, per favore.A pasta and beans, please.
A cozy Trastevere trattoria for Roman classics and seasonal produce; no bookings, so join the line early.
Soups appear in the cooler months.
Make it at home: Pasta e fagioli, Emilian style
In Emilia it's made with fresh egg pasta, usually the maltagliati, odd-shaped scraps left from cutting tagliatelle.
You need
- 12 oz (340 g) dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight
- 3 oz (85 g) pancetta, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water or light broth
- 8 oz (225 g) fresh egg pasta (maltagliati or broken tagliatelle)
- Salt, black pepper, olive oil and Parmigiano to serve
How to make it
- Cook the pancetta in the oil until it renders, then add the onion, carrot and celery and soften 10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste for 2 minutes.
- Add the drained beans, rosemary and water. Simmer, partly covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the beans are very tender.
- Take out the rosemary. Blend or mash about half the beans and return them, so the soup is thick but still has whole beans.
- Season, bring to a simmer and add the pasta; cook 3 to 4 minutes.
- Rest off the heat 5 minutes, then serve with olive oil, black pepper and Parmigiano.
Chef's tips
- Use canned borlotti in a hurry: 3 cans, rinsed, and simmer 20 minutes.
Sicilian fish soup
Mussels, clams, prawns and fish in a garlicky tomato broth over toasted bread, in a Sicilian seafood trattoria in Trastevere.
La Gensola · Piazza della Gensola 15, 00153 Roma
Get: Zuppa di pesce, or the pasta with sea urchin in season
Una zuppa di pesce, per favore.A fish soup, please.
Trastevere's Sicilian seafood trattoria, one of the best places in Rome for fish.
Depends on the day's fish; ask.
Make it at home: Zuppa di pesce
Add the seafood in order, longest-cooking first, and everything is done at the same moment.
You need
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced, 1/2 tsp chile flakes
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 1 can (28 oz / 800 g) whole tomatoes, crushed
- 2 cups (480 ml) fish stock
- 1 lb (450 g) firm fish fillet (monkfish, cod), in chunks
- 1 lb (450 g) mussels and 1 lb (450 g) clams, scrubbed
- 8 oz (225 g) squid, sliced in rings
- 8 large prawns, shell on
- Salt, parsley, toasted bread rubbed with garlic
How to make it
- Warm the oil and cook the garlic and chile 1 minute. Add the wine and let it bubble 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and stock and simmer 15 minutes. Season.
- Add the squid and fish; simmer 4 minutes. Add the clams, mussels and prawns, cover and cook 5 minutes, until the shells open (throw away any that don't).
- Put toast in each bowl, ladle the soup over and scatter with parsley.
Chef's tips
- Purge clams in salted water 30 minutes so they don't bring grit.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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