Pastina Soup
This soup is the EPITOME of comfort food. This Pastina Soup is Campbell’s Chicken & Stars to the millionth degree. It’s way bougie-r, richer, healthier, and more flavorful-ier. All of the vegetables are puréed into the broth so that it’s silky smooth and basically just stars and a rich broth. I also cook a whole chicken in the vegetables to create said rich broth, and then you can shred the chicken and add it back in to serve, or you can leave it out (use for salads and/or sandwiches) and keep the soup a little more nostalgic.
Then top with some fresh Parmigiano Reggiano and cracked black pepper.
SO GOOD!!
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Pastina Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
1 whole chicken (5.5 lbs is what I used)
8 oz Pastina pasta, you can use orzo as well
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thirds (smaller if using immersion)
4 celery stalks, cut into thirds (smaller if using immersion)
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 leeks, sliced & cleaned (white & light green parts only)
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4-5 springs of thyme
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
Pepper to taste
Parmigiano Reggiano to serve
Chicken stock (optional)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350°F
Pat the chicken dry and generously season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in large pot with a tight-fitting lid on high heat. Place the chicken in the pot breast-side down for about 5-7 minutes to brown it nicely. Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the vegetables. Cook until vegetables are starting to brown- about 15-20 minutes. Add in lemon juice, lemon zest, and thyme.
Add the chicken back into the pot, then add salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Add 6 1/2 cups of cold water to pot. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with lid and put into oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Take out of oven and remove the chicken.
Note: I shredded the chicken and added back into the soup to serve at the end. You can also skip this step and use chicken for sandwiches or salads.
Remove the thyme from the pot.
Use immersion blender to purée the vegetables and broth. If you do not have an immersion blender, remove vegetables from pot and place them into a blender with 2 cups of broth and blend, then add the purée back to pot. Salt to taste.
Note: If your soup/purée consistency is too thick, you can add some chicken stock in at this step to thin it out a little bit
Bring soup back to a boil and add the Pastina- cook for about 8 minutes until Pastina is cooked.
Note: An alternative method would be to cook the Pastina pasta separately and then ladle the soup onto the pasta to serve- this will help to not have the pasta soak up all of the liquid. If you cook it all together, you can add in chicken stock when reheating per serving!
Ladle into bowl and top with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano and freshly cracked pepper. You can also add back in some of the shredded chicken as well for a little protein.
Have the literal coziest time of your life with this comfort food soup. It’s SO much better than Campbell’s!
