I've seen this Pastina Soup recipe online a few times and finally made it today. I've had two different back-to-back sicknesses since last week and had a little more energy today so I made this for my lunch. It was pretty amazing!
I can't handle onions and garlic anymore so I only used them for flavor. I kept the onion whole and still used 4 cloves of smashed garlic, but I threw all of them away before I blended the carrots and celery. I also used more carrots and celery than the recipe called for (5 or 6 small/medium carrots and 4 celery stalks). I used two 32-ounce cartons of chicken broth plus half a carton of water.
I made about 3/4 bag of Stelline pasta which seemed like the perfect amount for this recipe. I cooked the pasta separately and spooned the broth over it. I also stored the leftovers separately so the pasta wouldn't absorb all of the broth.
I haven't been eating grated cheese lately so I put some ground pepper and more salt in my soup and it was so good. This is a delicious, simple recipe to make, especially if someone in your household isn't feeling well.
Pastina Soup (Italian Penicillin)
Recipe from Pinch of Yum Blog
This soup has become my go-to recipe when my family is sick. The broth is amazing – simple, light, flavorful, and nourishing! It’s absolute comfort food.
For the Broth:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 stalks of celery, cut into large chunks
half of 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
10 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I use 10 cups water plus 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon chicken base)
1 teaspoon salt
For Serving:
1½ cups pastina (I use Stelline from the Good and Gather brand at Target)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Sauté Veggies: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chunky carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes.
Simmer: Add broth and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender.
Remove Veggies: Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetable chunks to a bowl. Set aside to cool for a few minutes (you don’t want to add scorching hot veggies to your plastic blender).
Blend: When the veggies have cooled a bit, blend them with 1-2 cups broth until very smooth. Add the blended mixture back to the pot; stir to incorporate.
Pastina: Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Serve: Put a scoop of pastina in a shallow bowl. Ladle the steaming hot broth over the top, and top each bowl with freshly grated Parmesan.
Makes 6-8 servings.
