What’s Pastina Pasta? – The Pasta Mission

Pastina, which accurately interprets to small or tiny pasta, is the title given to greater than 30 Italian soup pastas. Most sorts of pastina are very small. Historically, Italians prepare dinner this tiny pasta straight in a soup or broth. However, additionally they use it in child meals, salads, desserts and a few risotto-style pasta dishes.

Fashionable kinds of these Italian soup pastas are available every kind of machine-made shapes from stars to letters of the alphabet! Nevertheless, the idea of including small items of pasta to soups dates again centuries. In reality, there are fairly just a few kinds of pastina which had been and, in some circumstances, nonetheless are made by hand.

Different types of Italian pastina pasta in long collage image.

Table of Contents

The various completely different shapes and names of Italian pastina.

For lots of soup pasta followers within the USA, the one sort of pastina they know and use is stelle or stelline (stars), additionally referred to as fiori di sambuco (elder flowers) and astir (stars) in Italy. Nevertheless, though some types of Italian pastina look fairly related, they’ve completely different names.

Orzo/risoni pasta on white plate. — Orzo/risoni pastina.

For instance, a lot of pastina shapes allude to seeds of fruits, grains and legumes. To call just a few, there’s semi di cicoria (chicory seeds), semi di grano (wheat), semi di mele (apples), semi di melone (melon), semi d’orzo (barley), semi di peperone (bell pepper), semi di popone (melon), semi di riso (rice), semi d’avana (oat seeds), pignè (pine nuts), acini di pepe (peppercorns) and pepe bucato (peppercorns with a gap).

Tuscan minestrone with orzo in terracotta bowl. — Tuscan minestrone with orzo.

Of the above, two of probably the most well-known are semi di orzo, additionally referred to as simply orzo , and semi di riso (risoni). These are principally the identical. Each really appear to be grains of rice. Yow will discover this pastina offered as orzo or risoni. In accordance with Italian Wikipedia orzo originated in Tuscany. Orzo pasta can also be utilized in Greece, Spain, Turkey and different Arab nations, not simply in Italy.

Dried tripolini pasta on rush mat. — Tripolini pastina.

Acini di pepe is one other fashionable pastina additionally discovered exterior Italy. In reality, there’s a Jewish dish referred to as keskasoon which is made with acini di pepe and chickpeas. Plus, in some components of the USA, they make a candy pasta dish referred to as frogeye salad with this pastina, canned fruits, egg custard, marshmallows and whipped cream! Acini di pepe originated in Liguria.

Dried corallini pastina in white bowl. — Corallini pastina.

Pastina named after ex-Italian colonies.

Apparently, there are additionally some pastas named after ex-Italian colonies. These are Asabessi, Abissini, Bengasine, Tripolini and Tripoline (with an ‘e’) The latter are a protracted pasta, much like Mafaldine however ruffled on just one edge. This isn’t usually a soup pasta. Yow will discover it made by Rummo.

ciccioneddus (small malloreddus from Sardinia), — ciccioneddus pastina (small malloreddus from Sardinia),

Bengasine pasta are formed like small bowties with ruffles. Tripolini are related. Abissini appears to be like like small conchiglie (shells) and asabessi are small ovoids with ruffles. These are all tradtionally served in broth. Pasta maker La Molisana produces abissini rigati.

Sicilian anelletti pasta rings on white plate.

Different kinds of pastina pasta.

Italians additionally use different kinds of small pasta in broth or soups which aren’t as tiny because the pastina talked about above. Nevertheless, within the Italian kitchen, they’re additionally categorized as pastina.

Examples of those are ciccioneddus (small malloreddus from Sardinia), anelletti (small anelli from Sicily), ditalini (small ditaloni tubes), farfalline (small farfalle – bow-tie pasta) and extra.

Little pasta soup balls.

One of many oldest kinds of pastina which can be nonetheless made by hand as we speak come within the form of small balls. In Liguria, they make scucuzzu or scuccuzzu’, little balls of pasta that are much like couscous however made with eggs.

The phrase ‘scucuzzù’ really means ‘hail’ within the previous Genovese dialect. Up to now, there was a whole lot of commerce between Genoa and North Africa and it’s attainable scucuzzu was a ‘copy’ of couscous.

Nevertheless, you will discover related balls of soup pasta in different areas too, like fregola (fregula) in Sardinia. Each scucuzzu and fregola can be found dried. Fregola has develop into fairly well-known and fashionable exterior of Italy. I’m unsure if dried scucuzzu is obtainable in different nations.

Grated or crumbled pastina for soup.

Other than small balls of pasta, conventional do-it-yourself pastina is often made by grating or crumbling the pasta dough into very small and irregular items. Pastina that’s made by grating the pasta dough is usually known as pasta grattata (grated pasta) or grattini.

Dried grattini in white bowl. — Dried grattini.

You should purchase ready-made grattini however that’s really rounder and extra uniform in form than the items you get when it’s do-it-yourself. These days, some individuals make grattini utilizing a meals processor. Should you’d wish to attempt making grattini in a meals processor try my grattini-grattoni publish.

Homemade grattini in broth in white bowl with spoon. — Home made grattini in broth.

There are additionally kinds of grated soup pasta with completely different names relying on the area the place they make it. Examples of this are pasta rasa or ragia from Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, bilimbandi from Campania and bilant from Basilicata.

Some do-it-yourself soup pasta is simply crumbled or formed by hand. Up to now, this was usually only a easy flour and water pasta, notably within the poorer extra rural Southern Italian areas.

Homemade cheese, egg and parsley pastina in broth in white bowl. — Home made cheese, egg and parsley pastina in broth.

Nevertheless, these days, these pastas are extra continuously made with egg and cheese and typically parsley within the dough. Centuries in the past, this richer sort of soup pasta was solely discovered on the tables of the wealthy or made for particular events like weddings.

Yow will discover this sort of pastina in Basilicata, Puglia and Molise, in addition to Sicily and Campania. The most typical names are semola battuta, triddhi, milaffanti or millefanti.

Homemade millefanti pastina in broth in white bowl. — Home made millefanti pastina in beef broth.

Pastina in broth for youths.

In Italy, pastina cooked in broth is actual consolation meals given to younger youngsters. Many Italians grew up consuming pastina from after they had been infants. In reality, the well-known Italian child meals firm Plasmon makes numerous child meals with pastina appropriate for infants from 4 months of age.

Orzo cooked risotto-style with pumpkin in white bowl on blue and white table mat. — Orzo cooked risotto-style with pumpkin.

Italian pastina in broth is commonly referred to as ‘minestrina’. The broth could be made with fish, meat or greens. However the preferred for youngsters is hen or vegetable broth. Some Italians add grated Parmigiano or a touch of olive oil as properly.

Italian penicillin.

In fact, pastina in broth isn’t only for youngsters. Many Italians proceed to find it irresistible all through their lives however notably when feeling unwell. This pasta soup is the Italian equal of hen noodle soup or matzo ball soup. It’s each Italian grandmother’s treatment for a lot of ills whether or not it’s the flu or a abdomen upset. In reality many seek advice from it as ‘Italian penicillin’!

What is pastina? Different types of Italian pastina pasta in long Pinterest pin image.

These days, Italians use pastina in different recipes and completely different soups not simply broth. Click on on the hyperlinks beneath for a number of the recipes with pastina right here on The Pasta Mission and the best way to make do-it-yourself pastina too!