A comforting Italian-inspired Penicillin Soup featuring a rich vegetable broth blended with aromatic vegetables and tender pastina pasta, topped with fresh parsley and cracked black pepper for a warm, nourishing meal.
Total Time:30 minutes
Yield:6 servings
Ingredients
Soup Base
8 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, peeled and quartered
¼ inch ginger
2 carrots, peeled
4 sticks celery, sliced in half
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt (omit if vegetable broth is already salty)
Pasta
1½ cups dry pastina
To Serve
Freshly cracked black pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
Prepare the Broth: Add vegetable broth to a soup pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add Vegetables: Once boiling, add the quartered onion, ginger piece, peeled carrots, sliced celery, garlic cloves, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened.
Cook Pastina: While the vegetables simmer, cook the pastina separately in a pasta pot according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Blend Vegetables: Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the whole vegetables from the broth and transfer them into a high-speed blender along with about 2 cups of the hot broth. Allow to cool slightly until safe to handle, then blend until smooth and thick.
Combine and Heat: Pour the blended vegetable puree back into the soup pot with the remaining broth and stir to combine. Warm through gently if needed.
Serve: To each bowl, add a serving of cooked pastina, then ladle the hot blended soup over the top. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy warm.
Notes
For a smoother texture, strain the blended soup after blending if desired.
You can substitute pastina with any small pasta like orzo or acini di pepe.
Adjust salt according to the saltiness of your vegetable broth to avoid over-salting.
Ginger adds a subtle warmth; increase or reduce according to taste.
Use an immersion blender directly in the pot if you don’t have a high-speed blender, blending the vegetables in batches.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently on the stovetop.
