Nonna's Pastina Soup - Italian penicillin soup with chicken

Nonnas Pastina Suppe - Italiensk penicillin suppe med kylling

Nonna's Pastina Soup - Italian penicillin soup with chicken

A simple, heart-warming soup from the Italian kitchen - a clear chicken stock with blended vegetables, pasta and chicken.

Course Main course

Cuisine Italian

Nøgleord Soup

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 522kcal

Ingredients

1 large fresh chicken
(or 600 g chicken breast – see introduction)
10 black peppercorns
2-3 chicken stock cubes
Vegetable trimmings, e.g. spring onions, carrots, celery
Salt
Water

For the soup

1,8 l stock from the chicken
2 onions, halved
6 cloves garlic
3 carrots, thickly sliced
3 stalks celery, thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 Parmesan rind
280 g small soup pasta (pastina), cooking time under 8 minutes
Freshly ground pepper and salt, if needed

To serve

Finely chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan
Olive oil
Bread, optional

Instructions

Place the chicken in a large pot and cover it with water. Bring to the boil and skim the surface thoroughly.
Add the peppercorns, stock cubes, a handful of mixed vegetables and salt - turn down the heat and let the chicken simmer, covered, over a low heat for about 45 minutes, depending on its size.
*Use vegetable trimmings or whatever you have to hand, – they are simply there to add more flavour to the stock.
*If you are using chicken breast for the recipe, you can simply poach it in a little stock – it needs about 10 minutes, depending on size. In that case I recommend making a fresh batch of stock for the soup.
Lift out the chicken and strain the stock to remove the vegetables, peppercorns and so on. Measure out the quantity of stock given in the ingredient list.
Let the chicken rest while you prepare the soup - then pull the meat off the bones and cut or shred it into smaller pieces.
Pour the stock into a pot and add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery - along with the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind. Bring to the boil and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are completely tender. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and blend the soup with a stick blender, or lift the vegetables out with a slotted spoon and blend them with a little of the stock until you have a completely smooth purée. Pour it back into the pot.
Add the pasta and let it cook in the soup until almost done, then stir in the chicken and heat through until the pasta is tender. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and a little more salt if needed.
Serve the soup topped with finely chopped parsley, finely grated Parmesan and, if you like, a drizzle of good olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Nutrition