Nightmare Nostalgia Presents Nan’s Famous Italian Christmas Soup Recipe!

Fun fact: I actually started writing this out to put on the website a year ago, but stopped short because my shitty committee told me that no one could possibly care about this. However, here and today, I know at least one person that cares: ME; and eh, maybe someone else looking for an easy and DELICIOUS soup recipe that my Grandmother (Nan) concocted and served for both Thanksgiving and Christmas as appetizers to our ridiculous ten-course Italian holiday feasts. Italians go overboard with the food almost all the time, but get REAL EXTRA during the festive time of year. I’m ok with it, as long it includes Nan’s Famous Italian Christmas Soup! Ok, and some Clams Oreganata to boot. Maybe if you guys are interested I’ll get the secret special recipe from my Dad, because no one, and I mean, NO ONE makes a meaner Oreganata than my Pops.

I’ve been eating this soup every holiday season since I’m able to remember and after my Nan passed away in 2017, I kept the tradition going with my own family and children to make a point to serve this dish at every holiday meal together. As a teen, I lived with my Grandma for a few years and during that time she gave me Italian cooking 101 lessons as this is what she basically lived for. Coming up on the five-year anniversary of her passing, I figured I’d take it a step further and honor her right here on Nightmare Nostalgia. Christmas meant the world to her, and so did this soup that pretty much ANYONE I serve to immediately asks for the recipe. So unless your taste buds are seriously malfunctioning, I can guarantee this will be a dish you’ll not only put into your holiday feast bracket but stick in rotation on a regular basis during the Winter season.

Ok, let’s get to it, I’ve rambled enough!

This is what you’ll need: Serves 4-5 People

Two boxes of (preferably) Swanson Chicken Broth
3/4 cups of Orzo pasta
2 tbsps of Better Than Boullion (You can use 2 Chicken Bouillon cubes as well but I think the BTB paste gives it more of a kick)
3 Eggs
Shredded Parmesan and Romano cheese
Salt, Pepper, and Butter for cooking

Cooking Instructions:

Drop the broth and Better Than Bouillon into a large soup pot and bring slowly to a boil over medium-high heat.

While broth is heating up, grab a frying pan, throw in some butter and get those eggs ready for scrambling!

Midway through scrambling, add a heap of Parm/Romano cheese. I don’t really have any measurements for this. Add as much or as little as you like, but I always so the more the merrier! Mix and scramble together until done and set aside.

Once the broth is boiling, add the orzo pasta and cook over medium heat. Once the orzo pasta is almost done, add the eggs into the pot and season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to separate the eggs in the broth so it looks all pretty and dispersed for portions. Add more cheese to the pot for taste.

Simmer all together for about 15 minutes and that’s it! Get ready to devour. As stated this is great as a starter course for the holidays or hell, all by itself. This dish can be very filling so keep that in mind when serving at a holiday dinner. Other than that, I like to make it on a cold, Winter night alongside the King of sammiches, the Grilled Cheese.