Yes, Italian Penicillin Soup Is Trending Again — and It’s Delicious

Food & Wine ^ | Kat Stinson

[nickcarraway]

This comforting dish makes an appearance online every winter, and we're not mad about it.

Cultures around the world turn to specific drinks and dishes when they’re sick, using food as medicine. Soup as a source of comfort when we aren’t feeling well is a theme that crosses continents, and there’s one healing bowl of broth that’s now enjoyed by households far outside its home country, thanks to social media.

If you’ve scrolled through food content on TikTok or Instagram in the past few years, you’ve likely spotted — and perhaps saved — a recipe colloquially known as “Italian penicillin soup.” Unlike some trends that come and go in a brief flash, this one has reappeared every winter, and it’s the perfect time of year to try your hand at making it.

The proper name for this cozy soup is “pastina in brodo,” and while it won’t cure a bacterial infection like its nickname alludes, it is exactly the kind of dish we crave when we’re under the weather. Try it once, and you'll soon be making batches of Italian penicillin soup even when you’re feeling fabulous.

What is Italian penicillin soup?

“Italian penicillin” may have become big online in the past five years, but it’s been enjoyed in Italy for generations. The soup stars a type of pasta that’s mentioned in its original name: pastina.

These tiny pieces of pasta are traditionally served in a rich chicken broth, often with sautéed vegetables like carrots and onions, chicken, a pat of butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, or an egg stirred in. Especially online, star-shaped pastina is the most common noodle you’ll see used, but other tiny pastas like round acini de pepe qualify as pastina too.

Per the dish’s original name, it’s the broth and pastina that are the stars of Italian penicillin soup. Some recipes call for cooking the pasta separately from the broth first, and others cook the noodles directly in the flavorful liquid. While these different strategies may yield varying degrees of thickness, any version of Italian penicillin soup will thicken as it sits, developing a silky texture that’s almost reminiscent of risotto.

What Are Popping Cranberries? Meet the Viral Snack Your Holiday Table Deserves Where can you buy the dainty pastina needed to prepare this dish? Star-shaped pastina — also called stelline, meaning little stars — produced by American pasta brand Ronzoni is the most popular noodle choice you’ll find in the United States and is available at major retailers like Walmart and Amazon. Other pasta companies like Barilla make stelline too, and Target’s private label brand Good & Gather even has its own version.

If you want to support independent stores, head to your local Italian market or check out online retailers like Bottega de la Nonna, which has an entire collection of pastina options and related merchandise available for mail order.

Tips for making Italian penicillin soup at home

The exact recipe for this comforting soup will vary depending on who’s making it — we’re sure many nonnas are particular about their method — but you can opt for a super simple or more intensive version depending on what you have time (and energy) for.

Want the quickest option possible? Simmer store-bought broth, cook pastina directly in it, add frozen vegetables if desired, then finish each serving with a little grated Parmesan on top. It won’t be traditional, but it’ll come close enough when you’re feeling poorly. To develop the greatest depth of flavor possible, making your own broth from scratch is the way to go, but you can also amp up store-bought broth by simmering aromatics in it.

‘Basque Nachos’ Are TikTok’s Latest Party Trick — and They’re Actually Delicious If you’re making pastina in brodo for your children, try leveraging a popular technique you'll spot on TikTok, which calls for blending cooked carrots, celery, and onion together before adding them back to the broth. It’s a sneaky way to incorporate some more nutrients, and it’ll give the finished soup a thicker, richer consistency.

This is the kind of dish we’re happy to see trend year after year, because there’s never a bad time for a cozy bowl of pasta and broth. And to make the coming months of cold weather easier, we plan on freezing a few batches too.

[BipolarBob]

I have diffiNewt finding eye of newt.

[BipolarBob]

Difficulties finding stewpid auto miscorrect

[Fungi]

If there are no fungi in the soup, it can’t be “penicillin “ soup.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Which is why my "cures everything soup" has mushrooms.

[teeman8r]

penicillin soup? served with moldy bread?

[FamiliarFace]

Some FReepers might miss out on great tidbits of information.

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4355438/posts?page=507#507

[Sacajaweau]

My kids ate this every day for lunch in winter...it was big in Upstate NY...and my friends were all Italian.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I found some beef barley soup at the back of the fridge a while ago. Not sure how long it had been there, but it had enough mold on it to cure anything.

I wasn’t sick, so I didn’t eat it.

[Fungi]

Depends on the mold, but it also had a bunch of deleterious bacteria, they will get you before the fungi.

[tflabo]

I’m of Italian heritage but my preferred get well soup is chicken broth with garlic, ginger, carrots, onions, red pepper flakes, a little vinegar and some pasta noodles. Add in some greens at the end and herbs like rosemary and oregano.

[Tired of Taxes]

Pastina is a favorite comfort food here, too, but I never heard anyone call it penicillin soup. We always just called it ‘pastina,’ and we made it a little differently: We cook pastina (for example, Barilla) in chicken broth. When the pastina looks ready, we pour scrambled egg into the boiling broth and stir. The egg cooks quickly. Top with grated parmesan. Sure, other ingredients can be added, but what I described is the tradition, at least in my very large extended family.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I was kidding about eating the soup. I don’t eat doubtful food as a rule, though I will admit to trimming a bit of mold off a hard cheese such as cheddar now and then.

[Fungi]

hard cheese ok, soft cheese, no.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Yeah, it’s way too much trouble to trim the mold out of Roquefort.

[boatbums]

I watched an episode on TV once that described the technique for making Chicken "Tea". It was a multi-day process that gently simmered several large chickens, skin, bones and all, in water for hours and hours (8-10) as you skim off the scum that arises. Some aromatics are added and seasonings. Through evaporation the "tea" becomes more and more concentrated until at the end the chickens have surrendered all their flavor and nutrients into the broth. The chicken meat even gets tossed or fed to the critters as there's no flavor left in it. The solids from the chickens are strained out and the broth can be simmered for further concentration and a stronger broth. Some recipes chill the broth overnight to let the fat congeal and it can easily be skimmed off and the broth back to a long simmer and reduction until the desired strength is achieved. I've always wanted to try this.

Here's a recipe that removes the breast meat for another use first but the rest goes in the pot.:

Double Chicken Tea

[HenpeckedCon]

It's just a cheap knock off of Jewish Penicillin. Chicken soup.

[metmom]

These tiny pieces of pasta are traditionally served in a rich chicken broth, ....

I figured it was some kind of chicken soup.

We used to call chicken soup that *Jewish penicillin*.

I sure do miss my mom's chicken soup. I just can't make it like she did.

[Liz]

Italian Pastina Soup / With Veggies
Healthy Italian soup – penicillin in a bowl. Veggies amp up the nutrition. Deliciously satisfying.

Ing 1 tbl olive oil 1 c (about 1/2 chp sweet onion) 2 c diced carrots or mixed veggies, 6 c strong chicken broth or stock, (or vegetable broth), 3/4 c pastina, 3 c baby spinach or kale, rough-chopped s/p Garnish: fresh herbs (chives, dill, basil), Parm, splash of lemon juice

Instructions Heat oil on med-high. Add chopped onions and sauté 3-4 min til slightly caramelized. Add carrots and any other veggie. Sauté 2-3 min. Add chicken broth. Cook 5 min to soften veggies; larger veg they will take longer to cook. BTB. Add pastina. Lower heat to a slow rolling boil and cook pastinaal dente or as tender as you like. About 5-6 min. Add baby spinach. Stir til wilted, a min. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish w/ herbs, parm or lemon juice, and serve piping hot immediately.

To do ahead: Make soup and veggies without the pastina. About 10 min before serving, bring soup to a boil, add pastina, cook tender on med. Or, cook the pastina in a separate pot while the soup cooking, then add to soup when serving.

To store: Place soup in an airtight container 3-4 days. Reheat with extra water or broth if needed (the pastina will absorb the broth in the fridge). To freeze: make the soup and pastina separately – freeze separately 2 months.

[Sacajaweau]

I've added the egg also. I have Pastina in my pantry...along with every other pasta imaginable.

I made a huge pot of Tuscan Soup...beans and vegies and froze 8 containers. When I thaw...I add 1/2 carton chicken broth, can of Catellini beans and a bay leaf....to stretch it. Wonderful lunch!!

Might make stuffed shells this week. I have a big jar of Rao's.