Pastina soup, or minestrina in broth, is a winter comfort food from Italian home cooking. If you add a small piece of cheese, it makes the dish creamy and comforting beyond expectations. It’s one of those dishes all Italians enjoyed as children, and it satisfies even adults, especially when combating fatigue and cold.
Usually, pastina soup was the first meal after a seasonal illness had kept me in bed. That bowl of hot, creamy minestrina in broth meant I could eat at the table again while still wearing my pajamas. It was a kind of welcome back to life I enjoyed hungrily with every spoonful.
Decades have passed, and minestrina is still a dish that comforts me when I have a stuffy nose from a cold, but it also has the power to cure and lift even the darkest mood. Is it the same for you?
In winter, when the world outside is cold and gray, a bowl of hot minestrina is precisely what I need to feel better. It’s a simple recipe to soothe tiredness and make a slight illness or discomfort more tolerable. This dish, a staple recipe in Italian home cooking, has a superpower.
Guess coming home, the cold biting at your skin and a sharp wind finding its way through the knots of your scarf, and being welcomed by the comforting aroma of warm broth gently simmering. And what if there’s no one waiting for you? Or if you’re the one who usually takes care of the meals.
In this case, please wait while I rewind the story.
You’re coming home, and it’s cold. The thought that there’s nothing ready to satisfy your appetite and lift your spirits slows your pace and doesn’t improve the situation.
Do you have a bag of pastina and some grated Parmigiano or Pecorino? A carrot, a piece of celery, and an onion? If you have the ingredients in your pantry and fridge, speed up and run home.
If you don’t have any of that, stop and buy something.
Finally, you’re in your kitchen. Prepare a quick pot of vegetable broth; if you have a Parmesan rind in the freezer, add it. Bring it to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the vegetables and the Parmesan rind from the pot, and pour the pastina into the hot broth; it will be ready in a hurry.
In the meantime, set the table, arrange napkins and spoons, prepare the bowls, and grate some Parmesan. For a special touch, don’t forget a cheese triangle, which, together with the Parmesan, will make the soup irresistibly creamy. On a winter evening, that soup will be the most delicious thing in the world.
Decades have passed, and pastina is still a dish that heals and lifts even the darkest mood. At least, it has that effect on me.
Pastina soup
This dish’s strength is that it can be prepared in just a few minutes.
You can use a light chicken broth, which gives a delicate and nourishing flavor, or choose a vegetable broth, which is quicker to make.
This dish’s strength is that it can be prepared in just a few minutes.
You can use a light chicken broth, which gives a delicate and nourishing flavor, or choose a vegetable broth, which is quicker to make. To make it tastier, add a rind of Parmigiano; it enriches the broth, giving it an intense and enveloping flavor.
Finally, add some cheese to make the broth creamy. I usually add a mix of grated cheeses like Parmigiano, Pecorino, or Cheddar and one generous spoon of stracchino or one small cheese triangle.
The pastina soup is more than just a simple dish.
It is a manifesto of home cooking, a symbol of care and affection, a remedy that serves as a reminder of something relevant. Those who find satisfaction and happiness in the little things are lucky persons.
Buona cucina, Monica
Pasta shapes suitable for pastina soup:
- Anellini – tiny ring shape
- Conchigliette – small shells
- Corallini – small short tubes
- Stelline – star shape
- Farfalline – small butterfly shape
- Puntine – the tiniest of all soup pasta shapes
- Risoni – rice grains shape
- Quadrucci – small pasta squares
- Filini – little threads shape
- Tempestine – tiny pebble
If you’re not in a hurry
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Italian pastina soup
Ingredients
- 30 g of carrots
- 30 g of celery
- 30 g of onion
- 2 bay leaves optional
- about 100-150 g of Parmigiano Reggiano rind
- 2 g of coarse salt
- 500 ml of cold water
- 120 g of stelline pasta
- 10 g of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese
- 5 g of grated Cheddar
- 2 cheese triangles (about 30 g each) or another soft cheese
- olive oil to taste
Instructions
- If you are using Parmigiano rind, wash it under running water and use a grater to remove the top layer of rind.
- Place the carrot, celery, onion, and coarse salt in a large pot. If you have them, add the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Cover with cold water.
- Put the pot on the stove, bring the water to a boil, lower the heat, and continue cooking over a small stove on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.
- Turn off the broth and, using a slotted spoon, remove vegetables, rind, and bay leaves. Taste and add salt if needed. Keep aside the Parmesan rind and vegetables for other uses.
- Bring the broth back to a boil; if it's too much, set aside 150-200ml and keep it in the fridge for a few days. Add the pastina and stir through. Cook until al dente (refer package instructions) and stir occasionally to prevent clumps.
- Pour the pastina soup on the plates, cover with broth, add the grated cheeses and stir. Place 1 cheese triangle in the center of each bowl, add a drop of olive oil or some butter flakes and serve it with more Parmigiano aside.
Tips
- Parmesan rind: it enriches the broth with loads of umami flavor. To keep them on hand, save your leftover parmesan rinds in the freezer.
- You can prepare the broth in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days.
- Consider to puree the vegetables. Discard the parmesan rind, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a food processor. Add a couple ladles of the broth and blend until the vegetables are fully smooth. Scrape the pureed vegetables back into the pot and bring to a boil for cooking pastina.
- Olive oil or butter flakes to end. Sometimes, I love to add a drizzle of olive oil right before serving, which enhances the taste and rich goodness. Other times, I prefer butter. Butter can be added whilst cooking the pastina or directly into the dish.
