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Italian Pastina Soup
A soup that cures all sicknesses through strong hearty flavors once called “Italian Penicillin.”
Dom Ruane
Dom Ruane
Published On: March 28, 2025
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Photo: 12 Tomatoes Creative Team
I grew up in an Italian household as I’ve said many times before and this was one of those recipes I would always see in the rotation. My mom loved to brew up this soup on a chilly winter day or as soon as one of me or my siblings get sick. We called it “magic” soup because it just made us feel better. I think we just loved that our Mom cooked us something that we asked for. She is such a cool mom for that. I can still remember the smell of the house when I would get home from school and smell this when I walked in. It would always follow with a question “Okay, who’s sick now?”
Photo: 12 Tomatoes Creative Team
As I got older I learned how easy and basic this soup was to make on my own. It’s a classic chicken soup with standard mirepoix and a few flavor enhancers like lemon and parsley. Trust me this is a very approachable recipe that will help set a standard for your future soup recipes.
Photo: 12 Tomatoes Creative Team
If you don’t know this already then you should. The best broth-y soups are ones that sit on the stove and simmer for hours. This allows the vegetables and flavors in the soup to slowly breakdown into the soup for the highly concentrated hearty broth. I’ve also found that after about thirty minutes of simmering you will get about 80% of the way to the same flavor profile as a 12-hour simmer. 80% is good enough for me in a pinch, but to each their own.
Photo: 12 Tomatoes Creative Team
I personally make this soup nowadays whenever I am making my own chicken or vegetable stock. The stock simmers away in my giant stock pot that I let roll for hours. You truly can’t beat a homemade stock with anything store-bought. After the broth is made all you have to do is add your pasta, spices, and fresh ingredients. Voila!
