29/03/2020

Italian Pastina with Peas

Name: Italian Pastina with Peas
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 cube chicken stock; 1 cup pastina; 1 cup frozen peas; 1 tbs butter; extra virgin olive oil (to serve); parmesan cheese (to serve )

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It is recipes like this Italian pastina with peas that prove anyone can cook a warm and comforting meal for their families.

Tiny pasta and peas cooked in broth until al dente and then served with a generous helping of freshly grated parmesan cheese. That’s Italian comfort food!

This is my number one go to dinner for my kids if they are feeling a little under the weather. As well as when It’s date night in for mummy and daddy. They have grown up eating this pastina since they were introduced to solids.

My Nonna from the North of Italy and my mother in law from the South have also been making pastina for their children, their grandchildren and great grand-children .

Pastina

Pastina is tiny little pasta made in many different shapes. Each variety of pastina has It’s own name and some of the most common types of pastina are:

Risoni (also known as orzo, resembles large grains of rice)
Stelline (little stars)
Ditali (little fingers)
Corallini (little beads)
Filini (small thread, resembles small pieces of very thin spaghetti)
Alpabeto (tiny pieces of pasta in the shape of letters of the alphabet)

The tiny shapes makes this type of pasta great for kids as it is easy for them to digest. Pastina is commonly used in soups such as minestrone or hearty meatball soup.

Pastina can also be used in salads and other dishes which would typically use rice. Risoni is perfect for this.

Why I love Pastina

Italian Pastina with peas is an easy staple dish anyone can make.

Pasta is the heart of Italian cooking and pastina is a favourite in every Italian family

Apart from being so cute, the tiny pasta is so quick and easy to cook as the smaller the pasta, the shorter the cooking time.

Im literally going to give you a list of reasons why I love pastina!

The kids go crazy for pastina! Even the fussiest of kids will eat it as It’s small and easy to pick up with a spoon.
Adults love pastina: Even on those occasions when I make this for the kids and a spicy curry is cooking away for us, I often catch my husband eating the pastina straight from the pot.
I find it so comforting!
When you just want dinner right now! This is so quick to prepare, you will have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.
Searching for recipes for babies? Pastina is perfect for babies starting solids. I would start using something like the little stars or the little beads. I recommend going over on the cooking time a few extra minutes to ensure It’s soft and easy enough for your baby to eat.
Minimal ingredients; this recipe literally uses staple ingredients so you won’t have to run to the shops to make this.
If you are feeling a bit under the weather this is also a great recipe to have on hand for a quick pick me up.
Its a great budget friendly meal because a packet of pastina is under $2

I realise reading this back to myself that as I get excited I use more exclamation marks! 🙂

What you will need for my Italian Pastina with peas

Pastina
chicken stock (beef stock can also be used)
Frozen peas
Butter
Olive oil and parmesan cheese to serve

How to make Italian pastina with peas

Bring water and stock to the boil.

Add pastina and peas and cook for 10 minutes or until pasta is Al Dente. My mother in law taught me to add the peas in with the pasta so that the peas have enough time to cook.

Stir in butter.

If there seems to be a lot of water left in the pot at this point do not worry as in 5 minutes most of the water would have been absorbed by the pasta. If you prefer the pastina to be more of a soup you can always add some extra hot stock.

Ladle the pastina into bowls, serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Variations of Italian pastina with peas

This Italian pastina with peas uses risoni cooked with peas but broccoli is also a great substitute. sometimes I even use both.

This pastina recipe will show you the basics and you can then use this same technique to cook pastina with whichever vegetables you like.

Other vegetables that go great with pastina are corn, grated carrot, zucchini, sweet potato or pumpkin.

Where can I find Pastina

Although you may only find limited varieties, pastina can be found at your local supermarket. If you haven’t spotted it already it is amongst the other dried pasta. Risoni is one of the most commonly stocked pastina varieties and so I have used it for this recipe.

You can also find pastina at your nearest Italian delicatessen or at selected green grocers.

How long will pastina keep

If you have leftover pastina, store it in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. It can be kept for up to three days.

When you are ready to reheat place in a pot with some extra water and gently heat on low until It is simmering and well heated through.

I hope you enjoy my Italian pastina with peas. It’s our family staple recipe that we enjoy frequently.