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Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings 8-6
Feeling under the weather? Your nonna (Italian for grandmother) probably has the cure - a hot bowl of pastina. This classic Italian comfort food is made with tiny star-shaped pasta, cheese, butter, and sometimes an egg. Also called "Italian Penicillin," pastina is said to help cure all kinds of sicknesses. While we can't prove that medically, who doesn't feel at least a little better after a warm, cheesy pasta dish?
Pastina fans recently got some bad news though. Ronzoni, a major maker of the tiny pasta shapes, announced on Instagram that they were discontinuing pastina due to supplier issues. As a result, the comforting recipe went viral on TikTok and prices shot up to $25 a box on Amazon!
But don't worry - you can still get your pastina fix! Barilla, available nationwide, still makes the tiny stars. We prefer the Barilla brand and use all their pastas. So next time you're feeling under the weather, whip up a batch of this classic Italian cure-all. With some pasta, cheese, and butter, nonna's recipe is sure to help you feel better in no time.
There are a couple of versions of this soup that you may want to try. We're listing 2 versions. It can be made with or without chicken and yes, you can use a store-bought roast chicken to save time.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced celery
1-2 cups diced carrots
1 cup minced onion (1 small onion)
4 chicken thighs (optional)
2 quarts water + 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes or 2 quarts reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups star pastina
2 cups frozen petite peas
1 cup grated Parmesean cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest or fresh lemon to squeeze
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Turmeric (optional)
OPTION #1 Instructions (cooked in one pot)
Add the olive oil to a medium pot over medium heat. When warm, add the celery, carrot, and onion. Stir to coat and cook for 2 minutes, or until just starting to soften.
Add water, chicken thighs, bullion cubes and cook on med-high heat. When the broth starts to boil, turn down the heat to medium so it simmers.
When chicken is cooked (20-30 minutes), take chicken out and either shred or cut into cubes/pieces (whichever you prefer). Leave on side.
Add the pastina and cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the peas, parmesean, and lemon zest, if using.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add chicken to individual bowls and ladle soup in.
OPTION #2 Instructions: (separated pastina and w/ blended vegetables)
In a smaller pot, boil salted water and add pastina. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
In a large pot add the olive oil to a medium pot over medium heat. When heated, add the celery, carrot, and onion until they soften (2-3 minutes).
Add chicken broth and cook on medium heat. When the broth starts to boil, turn down the heat to medium so it simmers.
When the vegetables are soft, take them out - but leave the broth in the pot - do NOT discard.
Put vegetables into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the blended vegetables back into the broth, add the chicken, lemon zest or juice, salt, pepper and turmeric and heat until thoroughly heated through.
Into separate bowls, add cooked pastina and ladle the soup over it. Garnish with parmesean. We've made it both ways and love them both.
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