Pastina soup is a traditional Italian peasant dish (cucina povera) which truly almost makes something out of nothing. The most minimal ingredients come together to make a delicious soup both children and adults will love.
Do you ever have “nothing” to eat in your kitchen?
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You know, when you have a few ingredients, but it seems as if there’s not enough of anything to make an actual meal? Well, more of us are probably struggling for recipes to make something from “nothing” nowadays, so try this pastina soup recipe that my mother has dubbed, “quick soup”, for lack of another name in English. In Italian it is called “pastina in brodo”, or “little pasta in broth”.
The funny part is that it should probably be called “easy soup” as it’s super easy to make, but isn’t the quickest soup we make. Don’t get me wrong, it will be ready to eat in 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how you make it, but you honestly won’t need many ingredients.
My goddaughter, Delaney, who some of you will know if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, absolutely adores this soup (as do most children!) Want to entice them even more? Use alphabet pastina, if you can find it.
What is Pastina?
Pastina, in Italian, simply means “little pasta.” However, most times, it’s given that pastina is referring to the soup with little pasta in it, as well as the little pasta itself. There are lots of pastine (plural of pastina) you can choose from in the US/Canada/UK, such as acini di pepe (peppercorns), orzo, stelline (little star pasta), etc. The dish itself is truly Italian comfort food.
Recipe for Authentic Italian Style Chicken Soup with Stracciatella
Don’t worry if you don’t have any pastina as you can make your own, too! I’ll link to a recipe at the bottom of this post, but here is one my cousin, Ada, taught me how to make: grattini all uovo.
If you have chicken stock on hand, either homemade or in a box, feel free to use this in place of the water, but this is more like a regular Italian chicken soup instead of a pastina soup recipe.
Try this meatball and greens soup often known as “Italian wedding soup” in North America
How to Make Pastina Soup
(Pastina in Brodo)
a family recipe by Christina Conte serves 4
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- water
- extra virgin olive oil
- (optional: vegetable or chicken bouillon)
- celery
- carrot
- medium onion
- salt
- pastina of choice
- egg
Step by Step Directions
Make the broth.
Put the water, oil, bouillon (if using), carrots and celery, shallots or onion, and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. If you have celery leaves, you can add those, too. Lower the heat so that the soup simmers for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the pastina.
Next, add the pastina (the one I linked to is just an example as you can use any small pasta you like. Acini di pepe and stelline are favorites. Cook until the pastina is al dente then remove any of the ingredients you don’t want to serve, for example, stalks of celery and/or celery leaves.
Add the egg.
Break an egg into the pot and swirl with a fork until cooked.
Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve the pastina soup immediately.
For children, you can always pop an ice cube in their bowl. Not only does it make it safer for them not to get burnt, but they love watching it melt and it teaches them about the reaction of hot with cold.
What to Serve with this Pastina Soup Recipe
Truly, this soup recipe is always served on its own in Italy, but eating something else afterwards is usually always the case. If you are eating this because you feel unwell, that’s also another reason to eat it without a side or something else. However, feel free to have a sandwich, or salad alongside or afterwards
Pastina Soup (Simple Italian Chicken Soup)
A super simple Italian soup made with a minimal of ingredients.
Ingredients
- 32 oz of water
- 1 to 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- (optional: 1 tsp vegetable or chicken bouillon)
- 2 stalks of celery, leave whole to remove, or chopped into pieces if you want to leave it in the soup
- 1 large carrot, cut into pieces as desired
- 2 shallots or 1 medium onion
- salt, to taste
- 2 Tbsp pastina of choice (acini di pepe, orzo, alphabet, etc., or you can break spaghetti into little pieces) (if you have no pasta see the recipes below)
- 1 egg
Instructions
Make the broth.
- Put the water, oil, bouillon (if using), celery, carrots, shallots or onion and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. If you have celery leaves, you can add those, too.
Add the pastina.
- Lower the heat so that the soup simmers for about 15 to 20 minutes, then add the pastina. Cook until the pastina is ready then remove any of the ingredients you don't want to serve, for example, stalks of celery and/or celery leaves.
Add the egg.
- Break an egg into the pot and swirl with a fork until cooked. Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
For children, you can always pop an ice cube in their bowl. Not only does it make it safer for them not to get burnt, but they love watching it melt and it teaches them about the reaction of hot with cold.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 132Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 416mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g
All nutrition information is estimated.
Don’t have pastina? Make your own~
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[…] of those odd ingredients sitting in your cupboards. There are lots of guides online on how to make pastina Italian soup – pasta, leftover chicken and carrots are some of the ingredients commonly added […]