Italian Penicillin Soup Recipe (Pastina)
Italian penicillin soup with silky golden broth, tender pastina pasta, and shredded chicken. One-pot comfort food ready in 40 minutes – perfect for sick days or chilly evenings.
- Prep Time: PT10M
- Cook Time: PT30M
- Total Time: PT40M
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: italian
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, quartered
4 medium carrots (about 1 lb), roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, halved
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1-inch fresh ginger piece (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt + more to taste
1 tsp black pepper
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (veg for vegan)
1 Parmesan rind (optional)
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 bay leaf
1 cup pastina (acini di pepe, stelline or orzo)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Juice of 1 lemon (~2 tbsp)
Grated Parmesan, parsley, olive oil for serving
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger (if using), salt, pepper. Cook 5-7 min until softened and browned.
2. Pour in broth, add Parmesan rind, thyme. Boil then simmer covered 20-25 min until veggies very tender.
3. Remove rind/herbs. Immersion blend until smooth (or blender in batches, vent steam).
4. Simmer again. Add pastina, cook 7-9 min stirring. Add chicken to warm 2-3 min.
5. Off heat, stir in lemon. Taste/adjust. Serve topped with Parmesan, parsley, pepper, oil.
Notes
VARIATIONS:
Vegan: Veg broth + chickpeas
Gluten-free: GF pastina
Spicy: Add chili flakes/jalapeño
Creamy: Coconut milk post-blend
Storage: Fridge 4 days, freeze broth 3 months. Store pasta separate.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
Find it online: https://yummyyrecipe.com/italian-penicillin-soup-recipe-pastina/