Italian Chicken Pastina Soup
While there are many chicken soup recipes, this Italian Chicken Pastina Soup recipe can’t be beat! It’s so flavorful, textural and addicting! Hard to stop with just one bowlful!
It’s chalkful of diced carrots, celery and peppers as well as chunks of rotisserie chicken and tender tiny pasta. Sprinkled with fresh Parmesan, it’s the ideal soup for any time of the year!
It’s a pretty straightforward recipe. Begin by sautéing onions, shallot, celery and yellow bell pepper in olive oil and butter. After 4 minutes, add the garlic and cook.
Add the carrots, chicken broth and parmesan rind (I highly recommend using one even though the recipe says optional). Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Remove 2 cups of the diced veggies and set aside.
With an immersion blender, purée the broth mixture until it’s smooth.
Add the pasta and cook for whatever time the box says (I cooked it for 9 minutes). Then, add the chicken and reserved vegetables. Stir to combine and then cover the soup and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
Serve the soup with additional grated parmesan cheese over and sprinkle with fresh rosemary or thyme leaves. Enjoy!
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Italian Chicken Pastina Soup
Makes: 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced small
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 4 stalks celery, diced small
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, diced small
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth, maybe more
- 1 pound carrots, diced small
- 1 2-3″ parmesan rind (optional)
- 1 & 1/2 tsp kosher salt more to taste
- 1/3 cup uncooked pastina tiny pasta, double if you like a lot of pasta
- 2 & 1/2 -3 cups rotisserie or leftover chicken
- grated Parmesan for serving
- finely chopped fresh rosemary and/or fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot or medium heat. Add the oil, butter, onion, shallot, celery and bell pepper and stir to combine. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the broth, carrots, parmesan rind (if using) and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes (uncovered) or until the veggies are nice and tender.
With a slotted spoon, removed 2 cups of the diced veggies and set aside.
With an immersion blender (or a regular blender) purée the broth/veggie mixture in the pot until smooth. If you use a regular blender, be sure to let the mixture cool down a bit before blending. Also, remove the center cap on the blender top and cover it with a clean kitchen towel or several thicknesses of paper towels. This will allow the heat to vent and prevent it from building up.
Add the pasta, bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook, uncovered for whatever the time on your bag or box of pastina instructs. (Acini de pepe takes 9 minutes.)
Add the rotisserie (or leftover) chicken and the reserved veggies. Stir to combine. Cover and allow the soup to rest for 20 minutes.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
Serve with grated parmesan, a scatter of finely chopped fresh rosemary or fresh thyme leaves (or both) and fresh ground black pepper. Enjoy!
Recipe by The Cafe Sucre Farine
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