Soup is so full of nutrition and goodness.  It’s inexpensive and easy to make, and can be frozen.  What more could a Mom want?  Here’s a truly Canadian, easy soup recipe.

Aunt Elsie’s “Passatelli” soup
Submitted by Paul Lepri, Quebec

Makes 4 generous servings

1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
32 oz chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions:
1.    Create an exterior ring of breadcrumbs and an interior ring of cheese on a large smooth surface (min 15”x15”)
2.    Break eggs into centre of the rings
3.    Grate lemon zest over the eggs and evenly sprinkle nutmeg over the exterior rings of breadcrumbs and cheese.
4.    Break the yolks using a fork and gradually mix the contents of the rings until manageable. Knead the mixture until firm, but not sticky. Shape the dough into a ball. (Cover in plastic wrap until ready to cook or freeze for later use).
5.    When ready to cook, use a large sieve (with 1/4 inch holes) and press the dough through to create cylindrical forms 1/2 inch long.
6.    In a saucepan, mix the tomato paste and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
7.    Gently place the dough pieces into boiling stock and simmer for 2 minutes.
8.    Serve immediately in soup bowls.

What’s a traditional Canadian meal? Recipes, like family heirlooms, are often passed down through generations and Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, turned to its customers to find out some of Canada’s favourite ancestral concoctions.  With hundreds, if not thousands, of customs making up the Canadian cultural identity, what Ancestry.ca discovered was a true mosaic of meals.