Minestrina and pastina are a typical comfort food in Italy. Broth and pastina are that dish that warms up the evenings in the cold season, erases the tiredness of a day gone wrong, solves ailments and flu and is a light meal in the evening after the sumptuous meals of the Holidays. Traditionally, pastina is eaten with meat or vegetable broth and a sprinkling of parmesan, it is an excellent winter dish perfect for warming up.

We are talking about the small pasta of which there are many shapes that is traditionally cooked in a good broth, meat, vegetable or spiced

Pasta and broth: the right proportion

Too dry or too soupy: the soup never turns out as you would like. A lot also depends on the type of pasta you choose: always read the instructions on the package to be sure of a perfect result. The cooking time is indicated on the package and can normally vary from 4 minutes for the smaller formats, up to 8 minutes for the larger formats such as, for example, ditalini

The basic rule is 40 grams of pasta for 250 ml of broth.

To simplify, two handfuls of pasta for a cup of broth

To increase the protein quota, you can also add egg yolk cooked in the broth, or melted cheese.

WHICH PASTA SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Tempestine,Semi di Mela,Anellini,Conchigliette,Ditalini Rigati

Capelli d’angelo, stelline, tempestine, Anellini, ditalini, Conchigliette, filini, TripolineSemi di Mela: there are many variations of pasta available on the market. Choose the one you prefer with caution: egg pasta absorbs more broth and grows more, so you will have to pay attention to the proportions to avoid the risk of obtaining a dry dish.

MEAT BROTH

The ideal base for a bone-warming soup is meat broth, prepared following the most classic recipe: everything goes raw in cold water, meat (choose different cuts, such as rib, chicken legs, hen), vegetables (carrot, celery, onion and, if you like, potato) and herbs (bay leaf and, if you like, parsley). Once ready, let it cool, so as to degrease it before adding the pasta.

You can follow also our Traditional Italian Chicken Broth recipe

VEGETABLE BROTH

You can prepare a good vegetable broth. You can follow our recipe on the post Homemade Vegetable Broth Cube

Or simply  use potato and carrot, cut into small cubes and boiled directly in the broth. Don’t overdo the quantities: in a liter of broth, a potato and a small carrot are enough.

BROTH WITH BEANS

Cook the beans and serve with a pasta of your choice. You may cook the beans in the traditional Tuscan way in a fiasco.Have a look at our recipe Traditional Tuscan Beans in Fiasco

SPICY BROTH

A definitely more intense version than the traditional pasta in broth, is the one that involves the use of strong spices.

First, put a couple of carrots, a celery, an onion and a fresh chili pepper in a pan. Add water,season with salt and pepper and leave the mixture to simmer. Once the base is ready, add the pasta of the size you prefer and complete the dish with a few parsley or coriander leaves.

Tripoline

GREEN BROTH

Prepare a broth based on carrots, diced potatoes, peas, spinach, chard and  zucchini /courgettes; once all the vegetables have boiled, blend them with the help of a minipimer and add a pastina. Complete the dish with a grating of pecorino and a handful of fresh basil.

BROTH WITH EGG STRACCIATELLA

Prepare a classic version of the dish based on vegetable broth and pasta of your choice; when it is ready and still very hot, pour an egg yolk directly into the saucepan and beat it with a fork until it becomes solid.

RED BROTH

After cooking your favorite soup, enrich it with a spoonful of tomato paste and plenty of grated parmigiano

BROTH for ZERO WASTE

Do you have parmigiano rinds?

Cut them into cubes and throw them into the hot broth, add the pasta and cook for the time necessary for the pasta you have chosen.

This was one of the ideas presented for the use of the Parmesan rind.Zero waste,follow our suggestion on How to Use Parmigiano/Parmesan rinds

YOU CAN ALSO OPT FOR

a simple generous grating of Parmigiano or add a sprig of rosemary at the end, which gives the broth a fresh and particular aroma.

Many possibilities for a great winter and post-holiday comfort food.

Have you tried minestrina and pastina ?