Italian Pastina Soup with Blended Vegetables, Butter, and Parmesan

Ingredients

• 8 cup chicken stock
• 3 carrots (Use 3–4 carrots; roughly chopped.)
• 3 celery stalks (Use 3–4 stalks; roughly chopped.)
• 1 yellow onion (Medium; roughly chopped.)
• 4 garlic cloves (Use 4–6 cloves.)
• 1 tsp ginger paste (Or more, to taste.)
• fresh thyme (Use as a fresh herb addition; amount unspecified.)
• fresh rosemary (Use as a fresh herb addition; amount unspecified.)
• turmeric (For color; amount unspecified.)
• Parmesan cheese (One fresh block; some may be used as a rind in the soup and more grated into the pasta and for finishing. Exact weight unspecified.)
• pastina or stelline pasta (Amount unspecified; boil separately. The video shows Barilla pastina/stelline.)
• 4 tbsp butter (Or more, to taste; added to the cooked pasta.)
• lemon juice (A huge squeeze, or more, for finishing.)
• salt (To taste; used in the soup and with the pasta.)
• black pepper (To taste; added to the pasta.)
• 1 egg yolks (Use 1–3 yolks, depending on how much pasta you make; add to the cooked pasta.)

Steps

1. 1

   Roughly chop the carrots, celery, and yellow onion. If desired, cut the rind from the Parmesan block for use in the soup.

2. 2

   Add the chopped vegetables, garlic cloves, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, ginger paste, salt, turmeric, and Parmesan rind if using to a soup pot.

3. 3

   Pour in the 8 cups of chicken stock, covering the vegetables and aromatics.

4. 4

   Simmer the stock mixture until the vegetables are soft.

5. 5

   Remove the fresh herbs and Parmesan rind. Strain out the remaining vegetables and aromatics, reserving the broth.

6. 6

   Transfer the strained vegetables to a blender with a little of the reserved broth and blend until smooth.

7. 7

   Return the blended vegetable mixture to the pot and stir it back into the broth until combined.

8. 8

   Boil the pastina separately according to the pasta package directions, until cooked. The package shown states approximately 6–7 minutes for al dente pasta.

9. 9

   Add butter, salt, black pepper, fresh Parmesan, and the egg yolks to the cooked pastina. Stir until the butter is incorporated and the pasta is coated. Use the amount of egg yolk that matches the quantity of pasta prepared.

10. 10

    Spoon the buttered pastina into servings and ladle the blended vegetable soup over it.

11. 11

    Finish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and more Parmesan, then serve.

Notes

The source does not specify the exact amounts of pastina, Parmesan, herbs, turmeric, lemon juice, or seasonings, nor does it provide a precise simmering time or temperature. The transcript indicates that the pastina is boiled separately rather than cooked directly in the soup.

Nutrition per serving

• soup
• main
• Italian-inspired
• comfort food
• pastina
• vegetarian-adaptable
• stovetop
• fall