Italian Penicillin (Pastina Soup)

Ingredients

• chicken broth (amount not stated)
• onion (amount not stated)
• celery (amount not stated)
• carrot (amount not stated)
• garlic (amount not stated)
• turmeric (a little bit, for color)
• butter (a little touch is added before simmering; more is added to finish)
• pastina (amount not stated; tiny star-shaped pastina is used, with acini di pepe offered as an alternative)
• egg yolk (amount not stated)
• Parmesan (amount not stated; more is used to finish)
• lemon juice (amount not stated; described as lots of lemon)

Steps

1. 1

   Pour the chicken broth into a medium pot.

2. 2

   Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to the broth.

3. 3

   Bring the broth and vegetables to a boil.

4. 4

   Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender.

5. 5

   Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a blender.

6. 6

   Add a little turmeric for color and a splash of the hot chicken broth to the blender.

7. 7

   Let the mixture cool briefly until it is no longer piping hot.

8. 8

   Blend until completely smooth.

9. 9

   Pour the blended vegetables back into the pot of broth.

10. 10

    Add a small amount of butter to the pot.

11. 11

    Bring the broth back to a simmer.

12. 12

    Pour in the pastina. Tiny star-shaped pasta is shown; acini di pepe is also suggested as an option.

13. 13

    Simmer, stirring often, until the pastina is tender.

14. 14

    Turn off the heat.

15. 15

    Stir in the egg yolk and mix very quickly.

16. 16

    Taste the soup, then finish with more butter, Parmesan, and lemon juice.

Notes

The creator describes this version as soupier and says to adjust the pastina to personal preference. The full written recipe is linked on Substack but its quantities are not shown in the supplied source; ingredient amounts and precise cooking times are therefore unavailable.

Nutrition per serving

• soup
• main
• comfort food
• Italian
• sick-day
• stovetop