Serves 4

The sparest versions of this soup are chicken broth, eggs, and a sprinkle of hard cheese. Long, thin pasta in the broth with the egg gives the bowl more heft. Use cheese or parsley as the garnish.

Salt and pepper, to taste
4 ounces angel hair, thin spaghetti, or other long, thin pasta
3 quarts chicken stock
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
4 eggs, cracked into 4 cups
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsleyor Parmesan

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the angel hair or spaghetti or other pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 8 minutes or until it is tender but still has some bite. Drain the spaghetti without rinsing.

2. In the pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil and return the pasta to the pot. Taste the stock for seasoning and add more salt, if you like.

3. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the vinegar. With the end of a spoon, start stirring the water until it forms a vortex. Drop in the eggs, one at a time. Use the spoon to gently curl “tails” of egg onto their yolks.Lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes or until the whites are firm (the yolks should be runny). Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Use scissors to trim off any spidery ends.

4. Ladle the stock and pasta into each of 4 deep bowls. Add an egg to each one and sprinkle with pepper and parsley or Parmesan.  Sheryl Julian