Pastina Soup (Italian Penicillin Soup) Tasteful Bites

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and chopped small

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3/4 cup pastina (acini di pepe or stelline)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh parsley, chopped

Optional: Freshly grated Parmigiano

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft and fragrant (about 4 minutes).

Add chopped carrots and cook for another 3–4 minutes.

Pour in the broth and bring to a gentle boil.

Add pastina, stir, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until pasta is tender (about 7–8 minutes).

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in fresh parsley and serve hot with Parmigiano if desired.

Rena’s Tip: If you’ve got leftover cooked chicken, shred a little into the pot for a heartier hug-in-a-bowl. Nonna did that when winter hit hard.

Nutritional Information:

 Prep Time: 10 minutes

 Cooking Time: 20 minutes

 Total Time: 30 minutes

 Calories: ~210 per serving

 Servings: 4

What dish was your family’s “home remedy”? The one that showed up with every cold or heartbreak? I’d love to hear the stories behind your healing meals. 

 

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• Tomatoes — buzz-pollinated flowers benefit from bumblebees

→ plant nearby: penstemon, bee balm, echinacea for steady bumblebee visits

• Squash — rely on native squash bees and bumblebees early in the morning

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Choose flowers that bloom through the whole season — diversity invites the pollinators your garden needs.

 

 

 

 

 

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