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Pastina Chicken Soup — Italian Childhood Memories

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Pastina Chicken Soup Childhood Memories

Here’s a soup that is near and dear to my heart.  One that evokes childhood memories of my mother’s cooking.  Pastina Chicken Soup brings back precious Italian childhood memories in her cucina.

Made with homemade chicken broth, it’s extremely easy to prepare and will warm not only your heart but also your children’s hearts.  However, I say that this is easy with the caveat that simplicity comes after the broth is made.

Yes, you can buy the canned variety of chicken broth, especially when you are in a pinch for time.  But there is nothing, absolutely nothing compared to homemade chicken broth.  And it’s really not that hard to make.  Trust me!

Cucina Povera

My mother made her version of chicken noodle soup with homemade chicken broth and tiny, tiny little pasta shaped in the form of stars . . . known as ‘pastina‘.  This recipe represents the ‘cucina povera‘ (poor food) that my relatives ate in the harsh environment of the Italian mountains in the 19th and 20th centuries prior to moving to America.

My family recipe for chicken broth (Brodo di Pollo) was posted on this blog back in November 25, 2009.  However, you can click here for the recipe.

Pastina Chicken Soup Childhood Memories
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See how tiny these pasta noodles are!  Even below on my fingertip, you can see how small they are!  Maybe that’s why children enjoy this pasta soup so much!

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Who doesn’t like chicken noodle soup?  And what soup comes to mind the most when someone is a little under the weather?  When someone you love needs some warm comfort food?  Chicken noodle soup!   A classic, traditional soup in our culture.

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Pastina Chicken Broth Soup (Pastina en Brodo di Pollo)

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Roz Corieri Paige and Retha Santi Corieri | La Bella Vita Cucina
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Scale

Ingredients

  • 6 cups chicken broth (I make and freeze my own chicken broth, so I always have some on hand ~ recipe posted on 11/25/09, click here)
  • 1 2-inch piece of Parmesan cheese rind
  • 1 cup pastina (any tiny, tiny pasta shape)
  • 2 cups diced cooked chicken, preferably breast meat (optional, my family does not include)
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Sea salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth (preferably home-made) and Parmesan rind to a boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the tiny pastina noodles and cook until the pasta is tender for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the chicken if using, and heat through about 3 minutes.
  4. Remove the Parmesan rind and discard.
  5. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese.
  6. Season with sea salt to taste.
  7. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, if desired.
  8. Serve with warm, crusty Italian bread for sopping up any extra broth.

Serve with warm, crusty Italian bread for sopping up any extra broth.

Pastina Chicken Soup — Italian Childhood Memories!
I know that you’ll love making this soup part of your children’s favorite recipes!
I hope that if you prepare this delicious and comforting pastina soup, you’ll take a photo and send it to me.  I’d love to share your wonderful creation with everyone who reads this blog!
Here are some other delicious soups that I know that you’ll enjoy:
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chkzup20121

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. It is easy to see why this would be a childhood favourite.So comforting! I have seen the wee little pasta at the grocers and will make an effort to pick some up the next time I am there.

    Reply

  6. OMG you brought back some awesome childhood memories for me 🙂 My nana made this soup all the time when I was a little girl . . . my mom never had the recipe since nana did all the cooking.

    Thanks so much for posting this recipe . . . I must make it this week!!

    Ciao . . . Gina 🙂

    Reply

  7. Pastina is so evocative – whether it’s with soup or a little butter – it’s pure childhood bliss. I just looked at your photos and was swept away. Pastina is next-to-impossible to get in the Twin Cities. Whenever we go to NYC, we come home a suitace filled with it!

    Reply

  9. That simple soup looks like comfort food at its best. Something to warm you up inside and out and eating stars will surely put a smile on anyone’s face.

    Reply

  12. Oh my gosh Roz Pastina!! Pastina was my oldest sons first “real food”. we were so poor that child ate Pastina every day. Funny thing is he still loves it!

    Reply

  13. That is the cutest little pasta. I’ve going to have to see if my grocery store carries them. My husband requests chicken soup all the time and this would be a nice addition. thanks!

    Reply

  17. I also grew up on pastina. Sometimes my mom would make cheese ravioli in chicken broth and that was also good for the soul. Now I make it for my children. Pastina brings back many warm childhood memories. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

  23. Roz – This was most perfect choice for the kid at heart theme. Comforting, warming, soul-satisfying, and nostalgic. It looks perfectly delicious.

    Hope you are doing well!

    Reply

  26. Hi Roz!!! im a blogging Newbie and im just now finding your site! Im DIGGIN IT ALL! I LOOOOVE those teeny tiiiny lil stars! I SOOO remember those! I am VERY cookin challenged! Im workin on it though! I WILL be following you! I have an Interior Design business & Blog…Im doing 14 days of xmas trees right now and would LOOOVE it if you could visit! I also have a GIVEAWAY!

    *ENTER PAMPERING Give-Away Here *

    blessings*xoxokara

    Reply

  27. Awesome Roz! This is so fun and totally reminds me of being a kid…another of my childhood favorites. Great choice for IHCC and thanks for sharing it w/ the hearth and soul hop this week, as well 🙂

    Reply

  29. What a delicious soup – reminds me of campbells chicken and stars – but OH so much better! I know my kids would love this! Thanks for sharing it with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop!

    Reply

  30. pastina was my very first baby food…and then the only thing i would eat when i was little when i was sick…and the one thing i turn to when i need some comfort food. oh how i love my pastina! my heart is warmed just reading your post. grazie! thank you for linking up this great food memory to tuesday night supper club.

    Reply

  33. I make pastina like this almost once a week or every other week. It’s so comforting. We mix an egg in it and it really hits the spot. I love your brodo recipe. Never mixed beef with the chicken though. What do you do with the beef after it’s cooked?

    Reply

  36. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us. This takes me back to when i was a little girl and my nonna used to make this for me. this is very comforting food and i love it. i make this for my husband when hes sick and he’s not a soup person. But he loves this soup. =) Manja manja!
    -xo Napoli Love

    Reply

  37. Great recipe! Very simple and soothing for a soar throat. I have bee meaning to find a use for the pastina pasta and this was as good as any. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

  38. Great recipe! Very simple and soothing for a soar throat. I have bee meaning to find a use for the pastina pasta and this was as good as any. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

  39. Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is all about favourite foods from childhood. I do hope you link this lovely one in. This is the link . Please do pop back to check out some of the other links. Have a great week.

    Reply

  40. Roz, thank you for linking this in to Food on Friday. We are now getting a super collection of dishes we loved as kids together. I hope you have stopped by some of the other links to check them out!

    Ps I have just signed up to follow your blog. A follow back to Carole’s Chatter would be wonderful – or have you already followed? Cheers

    Ps If you would like email reminders of future Food on Fridays, just pop by and comment and include your email – I won’t publish it – and the reminder will be by bcc so it will remain private

    Reply

  42. Thank you for sharing! I usually just make my pastina with butter and salt, but will now be making this soup regularly- tastes just like childhood 😉 I shared a link to this recipe on my latest post if you’d like to check it out!

    Reply

    • Ashley,
      Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know how you will be making this delightful soup for your family! I hope that it will give you continual happy childhood memories to your little ones!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply

  43. Oh my goodness. Thank you for this recipe! My nana always made me pastina soup when I was a little girl, and it is my absolute FAVORITE food. I always tried to recreate what she made, but she never passed down her recipe. Whenever I made it, it was always missing something, and now I know it was the cheese rind! I stuck a good hunk of Pecorino Romano rind in my soup, and let me tell you, it was nothing short of DIVINE! THANK YOU!!!! 😀

    Reply

    • Samantha, I loved reading your story about your nana preparing pasting! I’m so glad the weather is cooling down a bit, because I’m ready for a big bowl of pasting right now!
      Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate it!
      Roz
      La Bella Vita Cucina

      Reply

  45. also add a tin of good quality plum tomatoes into the chicken stock.. adds a whole new dimension of Taste.. what my nanna always used to do 🙂

    Reply

  46. Great piece. Yes, Pastina is Italian childhood. My favorite was when my mom would make me Pastina simply dressed in butter with a little grated Parmigiano. Yumm! I hadn’t eaten it in years, but a few years ago I started craving it, as one often does of their childhood as you get older. So a few years ago, I started buying my Pastina, bringing it home and eating it this way, Pastian con Burro e Parmigiano. And I’d be transported back to my youth. The same happened with me with Stuffed Shells which my mom would often make.

    Thanks Again,
    Daniel

    NY NY

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Dear Daniel,

      I was just today going through comments and read yours. I have no idea why I never saw your wonderful thoughts from 2015! Usually these come t hrough my email where I see them and read them. But, oh, what a story you have to tell others in sharing about the memories and meaningfulness of pastina soup in your Italian childhood I cannot even begin to imagine the intense boost of flavor with butter. My favorite ingredient after olive oil, pasta and cheese! Please do stop by again with more of your foodie stories and/or recipes! I so enjoyed reading your heartfelt thoughts of your childhood and mother’s love!

      Ciao,
      Roz

      ★★★★★

      Reply

    • Hi Sweet Katie girl! this recipe touches so many of us regarding wonderful, loving, and tender childhood moments. What’s not to love with simplicity, deliciousness and meaningfulness to our hearts and souls!
      Bless you Katie!
      xoxo
      Ciao,
      Roz

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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