Recipe: Pastina

Known as Italian penicillin soup, pastina is a traditional Italian soup with endless variations. This version is ideal for kids who don’t like the texture of vegetables or struggle with eating protein-rich foods. Though typically made with tiny star-shaped pasta, we recommend using fun shapes for visual appeal or to work on varying textures. Buon appetito!

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Makes

4 servings

Ingredients

8 cups unsalted chicken bone broth

4 medium carrots

2 celery stalks

1 medium onion (yellow or sweet)

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups small pasta shape (ex: stars, letters, orzo, mini shells, ditalini, or acini di pepe)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Butter or olive oil (optional, for serving)

Preparation

Add the bone broth to a large pot (5- quart) and bring to a boil.
Prepare the vegetables while waiting for the broth to come to a boil:
Peel the carrots, trim the ends, and cut each one into 4 to 5 large chunks
Trim the ends of the celery stalks, and cut each stalk into 4 to 5 large chunks
Peel the onion, trim the ends, and cut into 1-inch slices
When the bone broth comes to a boil, add the vegetables and cook for 15 minutes until tender.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked vegetables and set aside.
Reserve 1 cup of the broth and set aside.
Add 1 cup of water and salt to the large pot with the broth. Wait for the mixture to come to a boil again and add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, use a blender to puree the vegetables with the reserved cup of broth.
When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and add the vegetable puree. Mix thoroughly.
Ladle soup into bowls and serve with parmesan cheese, and if using, butter or olive oil.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezing is not recommended.

Tips for involving the kids:

Younger kids: have them help you choose the pasta shape, wash the vegetables, or press buttons on the blender.

Older kids: this is a great recipe to practice using kid-safe knives to chop vegetables. Another option is to have kids practice measuring the water, pasta, and salt amounts, or to grate the parmesan cheese.