Pastina soup is the dish every Italian grew up with when they were sick — the comforting remedy their mom or nonna would lovingly prepare. For us in North America, it’s the Italian equivalent of chicken noodle soup. But while the two are somewhat similar, pastina easily wins the comfort food battle any day of the week!
There’s no single official recipe for pastina soup—every nonna has her own cherished version. Note that it keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. You can also freeze the soup, but cook the pasta a little less if you do.
You need
- 2 peeled carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 shallot , roughly chopped
- 2L veggie or chicken broth ( low sodium)
- 3-4 tbps Extra virgin oil
- 20g butter
- ~1 cup of noodle ( stelette,orzo, risonni etc any small shaped pasta work )
- 4 stalk of celery , roughly chopped
- ~2cup of cooked chicken finely chopped ( omit if you dont eat meat)
- 1 1/2tsp salt
- freshly grated parmesan
- (Optional ) garnish with fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and shallot; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, salt, and carrot; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and transfer them to a blender with about 1 cup of the broth. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- In the pot with the remaining broth, add the noodles and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 minute less than the package instructions. Turn off the heat.
- Return the blended vegetables to the pot along with the chopped chicken. Mix well and let the flavors meld for 5–10 minutes.
- Serve topped with fresh thyme and grated Parmesan (it’s delicious even without, but these elevate it).