My friend Mona Talbott, one of the best cooks I know, has just published a book about soup. Its title is “Zuppe,” which means “soups” in Italian, although as she points out, there are many names for soup in that language: aquacotta, brodo, crema, minestrone, minestrina, minestra, passata, ribollita, vellutata and pappa, each with its own personality.

I first met Mona when she cooked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif. For the past five years, she ran the kitchen at the American Academy in Rome, enlisted by Alice Waters to improve the food served to residents there and to help redefine the nature of “institutional” dining.

She was also instrumental in establishing the Rome Sustainable Food Project, connecting and supporting local farmers, as well as mentoring young cooks.

Mona’s menus at the academy were exceptional, and the giant tureen of soup she served each day, always appropriate to the season, became the dish most praised. There is something about soup that strikes a chord, that nourishes quietly but completely.

There are recipes for 50 soups within the pages of this little book, each enticing. I want to make them all. Consider a brothy potato and wild chard soup for autumn, a classic chickpea and pasta soup in winter, a bright puree of fresh peas with mint to welcome spring or a bowl of summer zucchini soup with barley, served at room temperature.

Since we are still waiting for spring vegetables to arrive here in New York, I chose to make Mona’s version of stracciatella alla Romana, or Roman egg drop soup.

It can be made in any season, and goes together quickly, as long as you have the most important ingredient: good homemade chicken stock. (No cheating there. I have included a recipe at ny times.com/dining if you don’t have your own.)

Parmesan and eggs are whisked together and poured into the bubbling broth to make “i straccetti,” or savory, eggy little rags. It may seem ordinary, but I chose it precisely because it is so simple and so good.

And Mona elevates it with one brilliant gesture. She adds brightness to this familiar soup with a generous amount of freshly grated nutmeg and lemon zest. The result is phenomenal.

Roman Egg Drop Soup (Stracciatella Alla Romana)

Makes 6 servings.

12 C homemade chicken broth

Salt

6 lg eggs

Nutmeg, for grating

Zest of 1 lemon, grated

Freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan for grating

2 to 3 TBS chopped Italian parsley

In a soup pot over high heat, bring chicken broth to a boil. Season to taste with salt and reduce heat to a simmer.

Crack eggs into a medium-size bowl and beat lightly with a wire whisk. Whisk in about 1⁄2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, the lemon zest, a large pinch of salt, several twists of the pepper mill and 13⁄4 ounces grated Parmesan.

Pour egg mixture into simmering chicken broth and stir gently until mixture forms “little rags.” Simmer for another minute or so.

Ladle the soup into individual bowls and sprinkle parsley over each serving. Pass more grated Parmesan separately.