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@@TheKheumiller you know he was being sponsored so he had to say it? I mean just me I would take any sponsors I can get my hands on if it doesn’t seem sketchy. I would never guess it would do that, you can’t blame him because he is making money from sponsors.
I don't know why but I never thought in 1,000 years that I would see a prosperous food TH-camr make a recipe video about "Pastina" - The food my mother used to cure all of my illnesses. To me, it is the most humble of Italian pasta dishes and I never thought of it as "food" as much as "something you can stomach when you don't have an appetite" because it's simple and delicious. Thank you for showing everyone this Italian home "remedy"!
What's interesting is that pretty much every culture rely on "porridge with light broth" of various thickness when dealing with feeding the sick. For example, Chinese and Japanese utilize plain congee (differ in thickness - think JP utilize 1:7 ratio instead of 1:14). HongKongers adapted macaroni in broth, etc.
I'm a 75 year old Italian and my mom would make Pastina for me when I was sick. She'd boil it in water till done, drain and add warm milk and honey...almost worth getting sick for.
@@carlcat did your mom lest the milk absorb at all, or was it served as more of a pastina soup? I'd love to try this. Sounds like it'd be great to come home and make to warm up in winter
that sounds amazing! hey im sorry but do you have a recipe for this? my family’s nose allergies have been acting up and i’d love to make some for everyone!
@@toprak3479 The state of Florida is known as "The home of the newly wed, and nearly dead". Such analogies aren't terrible. They're pretty commonplace.
I doubt you'll see this but it's worth a try. Dude. For real, you saved tonight's dinner. I live with 2 friends and today is my day to cook for the house. Money has be very tight and I have not been able to buy much in groceries. I decided to use this video as an idea for what I can use to tonight's dinner. I could defiantly make some improvements with what I made but I am glad I could make dinner with zero issues.
Like what a lot of other people are saying, I did not imagine I would ever see pastina on a cooking channel. Cool, absolutely. Differs somewhat form how my mother would make it, and how I now make it. I make more more of a soup, with plenty of broth, making it creamy with butter, Parm, and Laughing Cow cheese. That's my not so secret ingredient. But, I still end up with the same consistency if I have leftovers lol. The pasta absorbs all the broth in the fridge.
Yeah I’m right there with you. Really really nostalgic seeing this made on this channel. But like you, my grandma would always make it as a soup like thing whenever I or my siblings were sick and couldn’t go to school. Always felt like a magical cure-all
The amount of times I used to eat this growing up sick at my grandmas house. What a walk down memory lane. I actually still make it, I like to put some calabrian chilis in it and then a teaspoon of the packing oil drizzled on top.
Wow all I did was read the title of this video and my eyes welled up with tears. Total Ratatouille moment. Pastina was a staple of my Boston-Italian childhood but haven't heard it mentioned in years- or really ever outside of my family
OH MY GOODNESS! ADAM! I have not had this since I was a kid sick at home with the flu in the 90s. My Grandma made it for me whenever I was sick with anything and it brings so much joy to my heart to see it here on this channel that I love. Wow. Just wow! This was a really nice video that hit all the feels. Thank you so much for this!!!
i am going to try to make this too. i think i will like it, because i've always liked "foods that you eat when you are sick" such as rice porridge like you mentioned earlier. i agree that all cultures have their own home comfort foods :)
Yes, that’s how my mother and grandmother did it-much more broth so it stayed like a soup. I used to love to drink the broth first, then eat the pastina. Only had it when I was sick, but it’s so good I would have been happy to eat it anytime. The last time I ate it was probably over 40 years ago! I’ll have to make some soon, and I’m not waiting until I get sick! Thanks Adam for reminding me of an old favorite!
Reminds me a lot of the τραχανάς (trahanas) we eat in Greece. Same basic shape and cooked in more or less the same way (often with tomato sauce and feta mixed in and an egg on top), but instead of just pasta trahanas is made by mixing fresh pasta dough with yogurt and then drying and preserving. It gves any dish that uses it this wonderful tang. It's a fantastic ingredient that sadly does not get as much love as it should in modern Greek cooking.
My nonna used to make pastina for me all the time, not just when I was sick! Although it wasn't as refined as your recipe. It was usually just small pasta (and there's a lot of different kinds) boiled in broth with maybe some cheese and that's it. And I loved it! On the other hand a lot of people I know here in Italy wouldn't touch pastina with a ten foot pole. "Oh, it's hospital food! It's sick/poor/old people food!" I think pastina gets a bad wrap and if your video can make it shine like it deserves it makes me real happy!
I've rarely seen people make pastina like it's a risotto, but it's very interesting. Honestly, you're making me want to try this out, see how well it comes out.
@@Broockle do it like tortellini, with more broth/water. I love it much more watery, and you can add those wonderful melty cheese triangles usually intended for children (like formaggino Tigre, but I think every country has those in one way or another) PS never (NEVER!) strain it, they would get very sticky
@@antonioscendrategattico2302 oo like soup ye tru. @Beniamino, I make tortelinni the pasta way usually by straining. Sometimes I then still treat them like jiaozi/gyoza and fry them with msg lol.
Who else grew up on this? Miss my Italian grandparents. I would run through the garden eating flowers and then come in to a bowl of pastina or some other pasta dish.
This was a staple at my Nonna's house for us finicky little kids. It brings back so many memories, and makes me miss my grandparents so much as well. Food is such a cool way to remember our loved ones.
I've been sitting at home with COVID... and watching your vids. The funny coincidence is... I was sitting here this morning wishing my mom was here to make me a bowl of Pastina this morning. She would make it like your fist iteration but without the egg. Happy memories with that. Thanks.
Grew up Sicilian and while every family will make this a bit differently, you brought me back to my childhood. Almost looked forward to being sick as a kid to have pastina with butter and cheese
Pastina always gives me nostalgic feelings. My mom would make it with butter for me and my brother whenever we had an upset stomach late at night. always hit the spot.
Omg! My Italian Grandmother made this for us,yes, when we were sick, she made us pastina , with a little butter and grated cheese stirred in! Pure comfort!
Here in Brazil, like in Italy, as you mentioned, it's tradition to eat this whenever you're sick. We call it "canja" and it basically consists of pastina along with chicken, some veggies and some not so strong spices. Preferably, let your grandmother cook it for extra flavor
You know, it isn't very often that I actually learn anything from food tubers, but this is the first time I'm hearing about this sort of dish. It must be super common in Italian homes but I don't come from one of those.
This video brings back memories of us kids being sick at home and taking a few days off of school. Mom would serve us Pastina boiled in water with butter melted in and a glass of ginger ale and we did indeed pretend it was 'caviar and champagne' lol. Such decadence. To this day I still catch myself sometimes sticking my pinky out when drinking from my cup, and I'm 38 years old now lol.
My nonna used to make this for me when my parents went to work. When I was a toddler I apparently just grabbed fistfuls of it and got it all over, so there are pictures of little me with pastina stars in my eyelashes. Thank you for reminding me to find those with my mom :)
The way my Mom and Nonna used to make pastina was almost all cheese and butter instead of a broth. Think of it like a super mild, melt-in-your-mouth mac and cheese dish… I might need to make some tomorrow…
We have a huge Italian community in Argentina and we have Vitina which is a brand of pastina and we also grew up having it when we were sick. I still love it so much!
I used to have a great babysitter by the name of Mrs. Jane. She'd make me a soup that I absolutely loved, and for years I've wondered what the dish was called. I'd always assumed it was a lentil based soup from Argentina (Mrs. Jane was Argentinian). However, after watching this video, I'm almost certain that this is the same dish with more stock! I thought I'd never get to experience that soup again- especially since Mrs. Jane passed away while I was still a child. This video has brought back many fond memories of her. Thank you for this video, Adam.
My picky boyfriend will love this. With a bunch of veggies. I’m thinking some Spinach, shrooms, shallots, garlic, tomatos, and squash. Gonna definitely give this a try. Thanks!
The Italian side of the family used to push "Dot Soup" for illness, the pasta is cooked in chicken stock, preferably homemade. To this day, I still crave this soup when I'm feeling ill
I might have been happier when I was still curious about the meaning of the ending graphic. But now my brain recites 'Vinegar Leg Is On The Right'. Every time. Every time, Dr. Pavlov Ragusea. I can't tell anymore whether I'm drooling because of the recipe.
I am Italian and i approve this video. When feverish, Pastina was the only thing i could eat without throwing up. It has been a long time, i think I will take inspiration from your veggie-pastina and try my own!
My greek family made it pretty much the same way. But more stock so it was more like a soup. We also had star shaped just like Adam mentioned. And we ate it with block of feta. Great video.
In Hungary we literally have this, it's called Tarhonya. We use it in the same context as rice. My family's tarhonya is usually not this wet though, it's definitely more on the dry side.
Interesting! I never heard of pastina as a savory dish. As a kid I would have it has a sweet breakfast meal where you cook it, drain, add milk (cold milk but the pasta is still hot so it evens out to being warm) and syrup then eat.
I've always enjoyed it cooked with salt and water, a single chicken bulion cube added during the cooking process, and then serving it with some nice cool milk to balance out the temperature (so it is still warm) and flavor. It is absolutely the perfect balance of savory and sweet comfort for me!
I love seeing this! Our family makes it like a soup and the egg goes in like egg drop soup. Super easy feel good food! But leftover, it’s just like the porridge version and is fantastic.
Oh man I used to do this as a kid, tiny pasta in chicken broth until it made a porridge like consistency and always thought I was insane for liking it! I feel so validated now!
I actually make something really similar with orzo, if you brown the pasta before cooking it adds a really good flavor, though you have to be careful not to burn it
i used to eat this all of the time growing up!!! i haven’t had it in forever…. i hadn’t seen a single person on the internet talk about it before this!!!! awesome video
My Nonna used to make this for me every single time I stayed home sick from school. She'd use less water so that it's pretty much just the pasta and instead of mixing in the egg, she'd just plop one on top. An absolute comfort food
Used to eat this all the time for lunch when I was a kid. Days off from school were spent at Grandma & Grandpa's house down the street and my grandma would always make a very simple pastina and a skinned hot dog for me for lunch. Her version was super simple. I'm pretty sure it was just the pasta with a little salt and water, with a bit more butter added at the end to make up for not having other mix-ins. I never got the recipe or technique from her before she passed because I wasn't old enough to cook a lot, unfortunately. A few years ago though, I managed to figure out how she did it (or close enough). I expand on it a little but it's in the right ballpark. It's a great comfort food that reminds me of those days.
Loved the video, and I can confirm that whenever my sister or I were sick, our mom would make us pastina with chicken & carrots and that's basically the only time we ever ate it. It's engrained itself in my mind as something that ONLY gets eaten when you're sick.
Gotta love how Adam closes his eyes for a moment and seizes up a bit the second he tastes that pastina - it's like he got sent straight back to the past to his younger days
Jesus this video hit some of my nostalgia. my mom used to make this when I was really little and it was cold out. been years since I even thought about this
I actually drain pastina. I know it's kind of weird, but I just mix it up with butter and salt (mostly when I'm not feeling well) and it is perfect. I have chronic migraines and at some point the headache becomes a catch 22 where if I don't eat I have a headache, but the headaches make me feel sick so I don't eat. I've found only two meals that can solve this issue without making me feel worse. One of these foods being pastina. Guess it doesn't matter how you eat it as long as it tastes good.
Mexican here! Never knew this type of pasta was used like this, I’ve only ever seen people use it in soup, kind of like noodle soup with chicken stock.
hi i am from Algeria, love your channel we have this kind of pasta too, it is called "berkoukes". it can be prepared with meat and veggies sometimes as a soupe but i like it when it is prepared simply with carrots and chickpea. we used to buy it from a lady who prepare the pasta traditionally by hand and it used to be a tradition in every home now it isavailable at every supermarket.
Weird that I earlier this week I was thinking about how my mom used to make Pastina for me when I was sick and that I haven't had it in years. I've never seen it mentioned by anyone online before. I honestly thought it was something her family made up because she told me once that she would eat it when she was sick as a kid also. We are a mostly Italian-American family so it makes perfect sense! Whenever I was really sick my mom would make it with milk for me and I swear that stuff was like magic! Thanks for the nostalgia! Also, never considering making a whole meal out of it. I'll have to try it sometime!
This takes me back to my childhood. Never had it when I was sick but it was a great comfort food with just butter and salt. I would say this is one of the first foods I made in my childhood. Seeing it right now makes me want to go to the store and get a couple of boxes so I can make some more in the future.
My grandmother used to make this for me. Chicken broth, parmesan, and butter. I was such a picky kid, she told me it was just plain pasta with nothing in it. I told my mother, who was stuck between the rock and the hard place of keeping up the lie or disappointing me xD
In Portugal we have a chicken 🐔 soup - canja - made mostly in a similar fashion, same pasta, but with more water, shredded chicken meat, egg yolk or all egg cooked, chicken guisard and liver and heart. Served hot with big fresh mint leaves. Best medicine ever ❤️🇵🇹
My Sicilians grandmother would make this when we're sick! Only she boiled the pasta until soft then added milk & butter at the end. It's like an Italian version of cinnamon toast.
im glad there's a term for this that's not 'congee but with pasta'. I use quick cook couscous, just to offend the maximum number of people, but its absolutely my go to on a lazy day. If you wanna piss even more people off, you can make it in a big mug in the microwave. Chop veg, add with stock or stock powder and water and seasoning, microwave until veg is done, add in pasta, stick back in for a minute or two, cover, and let rest. Dinner. Not going to call that version pastina though, don't want to upset people.
I have recently noticed this pasta in the grocery store and wondered. Neat to see both a preparation style and also the number of peope who have many fond memories of it.
My mom's side is Italian, and I used to have this every time I was sick growing up. I never even considered that it was a specific cultural thing passed down.
In Italy we usually cook pastina in broth - like in a soup - rather than making a porrigy risotto thing. One better and easy version are grattini or stracciattella. It's pastina but with egg pasta. You make fresh pasta dough and you basically put it in a food processor and blend it until small pasta bits are obtained. They are then boiled in broth like pastina and they taste soooo good, I promise!
@@JorgTheElder because it's not rocket science, it's baby food. Usually when it gets like this, it's because you forgot it on the stove for a while lol. But if you don't believe me, read the other comments
My mom used to make this for my brother and I all the time. My brother's always been picky and this was an easy way to get more protein into him by adding more egg. We called it bustine. Don't know why but we did.
If I had known about pastina when I was in university, this would of probably been my default weeknight dinner. Big fan, thank you Adam. Great way of absorbing leftover veg.
Big fan of the porridge style foods for being sick. My mom would make me a chicken lemon mint rice porridge. Still one of my favorite comfort foods, and it's hecka easy too.
Breakfast of champions. I grew up on it, as did my kids. Not unknown as a comfort dinner on a cold day. Acini de pepe works well; it's a staple in my pantry.
Definitely need to try this. But when you said “veggies you can buy just one of” and there was celery, I instantly said liar because I’ve never been to a store where the smallest amount of celery you could buy wasn’t like a whole freaking pound. That’s why I never buy it because I can maybe use 2 sticks before it all goes bad
I chop the celery and blanche, dry and freeze it loose on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, I bag and label it. It does not stay crunchy like fresh, but the flavor is good and works in cooked dishes. Never let food go bad. Always try freezing, or dehydrating to save food.
Here are my unsolicited tips for preserving celery: - assuming the celery you buy at the store has leaves that haven't already gone mushy, as soon as you get home take the celery out of the bag. Shake off excess moisture and then wrap up the celery in paper towel and put it bag in the bag. This will wick away moisture and prolong the life of the celery - instead of breaking off individual ribs of celery, take what you need off the top. Meaning, cut across all the ribs as much as you need. Since the cut part will always degrade fastest, replacing the cut part with a new fresh cut also extends the life. I honestly can keep a bag of celery viable in the fridge for over a week or more.
Also, I’ve seen containers of pre-chopped vegetables like celery, onion and carrot. It might be more than you need for the recipe, and definitely more expensive than buying by the bunch, but you could blanch and freeze the leftovers. Or buy the bunch and just use more in your cooking. Onion, celery and carrot are the fundamental building blocks of a whole host of recipes.
Another recipe I like for this kind of pasta. I get some portion sized pieces of pork, in the pressure cooker I put some olive oil sautee the pork, a little bit of salt and pepper then add water until it's covered and tomato paste, cook for whoever long the pressure cooker needs to cook the pork. Open the lid remove the pork pieces and add the pasta, boil while stirring for 7-10 minutes until done, it should soupy. Add the pork again into the pot, butter and salt pepper to taste. Serve with toasted bread, feta or blue cheese (if you're feeling adventurous)
Heard about this on the pod and am excited to make this. Despite what some rude commenters apparently said, I think your wife is charming, and I’m happy to see how y’all riff off of each other! 🙂
I honestly thought that was the best podcast yet. It seemed so much more earnest and interesting without a script and his wife is a delight. I hope they do more of them together.
I really hope that they follow up on the funding research. I would love to see a trend of crowd funded research presented presented the in a easily digestible way.
My nephew grew up calling this "Grandma's Porridge" and probably never realized until his teen years that it wasn't the same thing Goldilocks and the Three Bears ate. An everyday food in this house!
I really appreciate that you give vegan options, as my partner has a life threatening milk allergy, so I can still follow your great recipes *and* not kill them in the process
My mum use it with more broth so it resembles a soup. In our case pastina is both a comfort food and a normal food. Sometimes if we want it fancier we make it with fish and seafood and that's how we eat it on Christmas Eve. Thanks from Spain
Aw man, these are memories! We would have it as "stelline", tiny stars of pasta, in vegetable or chicken stock and loads of cheese. I loved it as a kid! Still do.
0:40 this man is so dedicated to using his volumetric measurement habits that he would rather dirty a measuring cup with stock than putting a kitchen scale on his counter and pour the correct amount of liquid directly into the pot.
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Would this technique work well with couscous if I used a little extra liquid to keep it risotto-like?
@@tyzerro It IS pasta balls, so it should!
Please do some research on companies like Fetch Rewards. They store and sell your name, address, purchase history, billing method and God knows what else. And you're encouraging your viewers to give this company access to their EMAILS
L
@@TheKheumiller you know he was being sponsored so he had to say it? I mean just me I would take any sponsors I can get my hands on if it doesn’t seem sketchy. I would never guess it would do that, you can’t blame him because he is making money from sponsors.
I don't know why but I never thought in 1,000 years that I would see a prosperous food TH-camr make a recipe video about "Pastina" - The food my mother used to cure all of my illnesses. To me, it is the most humble of Italian pasta dishes and I never thought of it as "food" as much as "something you can stomach when you don't have an appetite" because it's simple and delicious. Thank you for showing everyone this Italian home "remedy"!
What's interesting is that pretty much every culture rely on "porridge with light broth" of various thickness when dealing with feeding the sick. For example, Chinese and Japanese utilize plain congee (differ in thickness - think JP utilize 1:7 ratio instead of 1:14). HongKongers adapted macaroni in broth, etc.
Never doubt Ragussy
Not another cooking show has a great recipe on it too
@@Jestersage I would love to see a Ragusea video on congee and some of the Asian variations of it from each country!
In uk at least where I live the sick food was toast and flat lemonade
I'm a 75 year old Italian and my mom would make Pastina for me when I was sick. She'd boil it in water till done, drain and add warm milk and honey...almost worth getting sick for.
What a lovely memory. That sounds delicious, too.
@@beth4928 Thanks, between TH-cam and Google Maps I've been enjoying lots of old memories.
@@carlcat did your mom lest the milk absorb at all, or was it served as more of a pastina soup? I'd love to try this. Sounds like it'd be great to come home and make to warm up in winter
@@beth4928 It was served more like a soup but it would pay to try both ways to see which you like best.
that sounds amazing! hey im sorry but do you have a recipe for this? my family’s nose allergies have been acting up and i’d love to make some for everyone!
Pastina is baby’s first food, and an old person’s last meal. In between it’s just a perfect comfort food.
This sounds needlessly melancholic for a food
@@toprak3479 these are Italians we are talking about, they are always melancholic about their foods.
@@toprak3479 The state of Florida is known as "The home of the newly wed, and nearly dead". Such analogies aren't terrible. They're pretty commonplace.
the alpha and omega
@@SlavicCelery As a Floridia man, I have literally never heard anyone call it such
My grandparents used to call these "power pellets" and to this day I'm shocked my 70 year old Italian grandparents were such large Pac man fans
I absolutely love this comment lol
In Argentina they are called "munición" which would translate to ammunition(like the ones in shotguns)
That's freaking adorable
I doubt you'll see this but it's worth a try.
Dude. For real, you saved tonight's dinner. I live with 2 friends and today is my day to cook for the house. Money has be very tight and I have not been able to buy much in groceries. I decided to use this video as an idea for what I can use to tonight's dinner. I could defiantly make some improvements with what I made but I am glad I could make dinner with zero issues.
Like what a lot of other people are saying, I did not imagine I would ever see pastina on a cooking channel. Cool, absolutely. Differs somewhat form how my mother would make it, and how I now make it. I make more more of a soup, with plenty of broth, making it creamy with butter, Parm, and Laughing Cow cheese. That's my not so secret ingredient. But, I still end up with the same consistency if I have leftovers lol. The pasta absorbs all the broth in the fridge.
Same here! My Italian parents always made it with more of a broth than like risotto
Yeah I’m right there with you. Really really nostalgic seeing this made on this channel. But like you, my grandma would always make it as a soup like thing whenever I or my siblings were sick and couldn’t go to school. Always felt like a magical cure-all
The amount of times I used to eat this growing up sick at my grandmas house. What a walk down memory lane.
I actually still make it, I like to put some calabrian chilis in it and then a teaspoon of the packing oil drizzled on top.
Also a huge amount of Parmigiano lol
@@rotanux That's a given, although I prefer the sharpness of pecorino
@@tenderermean000 yeah that's good too
@Tenderermean000 brilliant idea with the chili peppers bro; I'm stealing it
Cool!
Wow all I did was read the title of this video and my eyes welled up with tears. Total Ratatouille moment. Pastina was a staple of my Boston-Italian childhood but haven't heard it mentioned in years- or really ever outside of my family
OH MY GOODNESS! ADAM! I have not had this since I was a kid sick at home with the flu in the 90s. My Grandma made it for me whenever I was sick with anything and it brings so much joy to my heart to see it here on this channel that I love. Wow. Just wow! This was a really nice video that hit all the feels. Thank you so much for this!!!
I did this before out of sheer curiosity, you can even make it sweet. It’s basically just congee but with pasta
Sounds almost more similar to kheer - which is absolutely wonderful, if you've not it.
@@jameshaulenbeek5931 tbf almost every culture has this kind of food,it's kinda hard to mess up
i am going to try to make this too. i think i will like it, because i've always liked "foods that you eat when you are sick" such as rice porridge like you mentioned earlier. i agree that all cultures have their own home comfort foods :)
I love how this is just a universal thing. Humans be eating gloop :)
Pastina is also often eaten in a more "soupy" way - just tiny pasta cooked in a lot of stock, and you eat both the pasta and the soup.
That's the way my dad does it, his Calabrian father would make it like that, I wonder if this variation have gotten some french influence
@@PiMast I think it must have: my father is natively French and made it this way when I was growing up. I can ask him about it later.
Yes, that’s how my mother and grandmother did it-much more broth so it stayed like a soup. I used to love to drink the broth first, then eat the pastina. Only had it when I was sick, but it’s so good I would have been happy to eat it anytime. The last time I ate it was probably over 40 years ago! I’ll have to make some soon, and I’m not waiting until I get sick! Thanks Adam for reminding me of an old favorite!
@@57hound Same!
Same here. My nonna from Frigento only made pastina en brodo.
Reminds me a lot of the τραχανάς (trahanas) we eat in Greece. Same basic shape and cooked in more or less the same way (often with tomato sauce and feta mixed in and an egg on top), but instead of just pasta trahanas is made by mixing fresh pasta dough with yogurt and then drying and preserving. It gves any dish that uses it this wonderful tang. It's a fantastic ingredient that sadly does not get as much love as it should in modern Greek cooking.
Albanians also eat "Trahana". Nice to see so many similarities between balcan peoples!
I was going to say it reminded me of my Yiayia-in-law's chicken soup. She uses orzo though
I suppose it's all over the Balkans, we have it in Bulgaria too. :D Reminds me to make some these days, yummm :)
So interesting, in Hungary there is something similar called tarhonya
My nonna used to make pastina for me all the time, not just when I was sick! Although it wasn't as refined as your recipe. It was usually just small pasta (and there's a lot of different kinds) boiled in broth with maybe some cheese and that's it. And I loved it! On the other hand a lot of people I know here in Italy wouldn't touch pastina with a ten foot pole. "Oh, it's hospital food! It's sick/poor/old people food!" I think pastina gets a bad wrap and if your video can make it shine like it deserves it makes me real happy!
I've rarely seen people make pastina like it's a risotto, but it's very interesting. Honestly, you're making me want to try this out, see how well it comes out.
what other way is there?
Cook it like pasta and strain? That seems a bit cumbersome. 🤔
@@Broockle do it like tortellini, with more broth/water. I love it much more watery, and you can add those wonderful melty cheese triangles usually intended for children (like formaggino Tigre, but I think every country has those in one way or another)
PS never (NEVER!) strain it, they would get very sticky
@@Broockle Boil it in broth and serve it with the broth, of course.
Along with some pepper or nutmeg.
@@antonioscendrategattico2302
oo like soup ye tru.
@Beniamino, I make tortelinni the pasta way usually by straining.
Sometimes I then still treat them like jiaozi/gyoza and fry them with msg lol.
@@Broockle You add it to broth to "thicken" it up a bit, so you don't have to just eat warm water. But it's still like a liquid soup.
Who else grew up on this? Miss my Italian grandparents. I would run through the garden eating flowers and then come in to a bowl of pastina or some other pasta dish.
This was a staple at my Nonna's house for us finicky little kids. It brings back so many memories, and makes me miss my grandparents so much as well. Food is such a cool way to remember our loved ones.
I've been sitting at home with COVID... and watching your vids. The funny coincidence is... I was sitting here this morning wishing my mom was here to make me a bowl of Pastina this morning. She would make it like your fist iteration but without the egg. Happy memories with that. Thanks.
Grew up Sicilian and while every family will make this a bit differently, you brought me back to my childhood. Almost looked forward to being sick as a kid to have pastina with butter and cheese
Pastina always gives me nostalgic feelings. My mom would make it with butter for me and my brother whenever we had an upset stomach late at night. always hit the spot.
i think adam has won the hearts of italians with this one
Omg! My Italian Grandmother made this for us,yes, when we were sick, she made us pastina , with a little butter and grated cheese stirred in! Pure comfort!
Here in Brazil, like in Italy, as you mentioned, it's tradition to eat this whenever you're sick. We call it "canja" and it basically consists of pastina along with chicken, some veggies and some not so strong spices. Preferably, let your grandmother cook it for extra flavor
I am going to try making this for my 96 year old dad….it’s got what he needs and looks easy to chew. Thanks!
bless your father 💕
Don’t skip the chicken broth, that’s the most nutrient filled part of the meal
You know, it isn't very often that I actually learn anything from food tubers, but this is the first time I'm hearing about this sort of dish. It must be super common in Italian homes but I don't come from one of those.
This was always my moms go to whenever I was sick as a kid. Now as an adult it’s just the perfect easy comfort food. 😊
This video brings back memories of us kids being sick at home and taking a few days off of school. Mom would serve us Pastina boiled in water with butter melted in and a glass of ginger ale and we did indeed pretend it was 'caviar and champagne' lol. Such decadence.
To this day I still catch myself sometimes sticking my pinky out when drinking from my cup, and I'm 38 years old now lol.
Throw back time! I grew up on pastina and we called my grandmother Nona! An incredibly wonderful woman. Thanks for the memories!
The white wine makes a triumphant return!
My nonna used to make this for me when my parents went to work. When I was a toddler I apparently just grabbed fistfuls of it and got it all over, so there are pictures of little me with pastina stars in my eyelashes. Thank you for reminding me to find those with my mom :)
The way my Mom and Nonna used to make pastina was almost all cheese and butter instead of a broth. Think of it like a super mild, melt-in-your-mouth mac and cheese dish… I might need to make some tomorrow…
We have a huge Italian community in Argentina and we have Vitina which is a brand of pastina and we also grew up having it when we were sick. I still love it so much!
I used to have a great babysitter by the name of Mrs. Jane. She'd make me a soup that I absolutely loved, and for years I've wondered what the dish was called. I'd always assumed it was a lentil based soup from Argentina (Mrs. Jane was Argentinian). However, after watching this video, I'm almost certain that this is the same dish with more stock!
I thought I'd never get to experience that soup again- especially since Mrs. Jane passed away while I was still a child. This video has brought back many fond memories of her.
Thank you for this video, Adam.
My picky boyfriend will love this. With a bunch of veggies. I’m thinking some Spinach, shrooms, shallots, garlic, tomatos, and squash. Gonna definitely give this a try. Thanks!
The Italian side of the family used to push "Dot Soup" for illness, the pasta is cooked in chicken stock, preferably homemade. To this day, I still crave this soup when I'm feeling ill
I might have been happier when I was still curious about the meaning of the ending graphic. But now my brain recites 'Vinegar Leg Is On The Right'. Every time. Every time, Dr. Pavlov Ragusea. I can't tell anymore whether I'm drooling because of the recipe.
I am Italian and i approve this video. When feverish, Pastina was the only thing i could eat without throwing up.
It has been a long time, i think I will take inspiration from your veggie-pastina and try my own!
My greek family made it pretty much the same way. But more stock so it was more like a soup. We also had star shaped just like Adam mentioned. And we ate it with block of feta. Great video.
Thanks for the memories, Adam. It was our baby food, sick food, and comfort food. I wish my Nona was still here to make it!
I respect the fact that dude always shows his “mistakes” and how to fix em that’s pretty badass
In Hungary we literally have this, it's called Tarhonya. We use it in the same context as rice. My family's tarhonya is usually not this wet though, it's definitely more on the dry side.
Do you think the dish stems from Roman influence in Hungary? Or byzantine influence several centuries later?
I've always hated the slovak tarhoňa (mostly because of school canteen memories) but I will definitely make this if I can!
@@halo6534 according to wikipedia its of Persian origin and the word itself comes from turkish.
@@Peet790 yeah, i know what you mean, i also hated it because of that but this seems much tastier
@@halo6534 As so many of our other dishes, it is probably a product of Ottoman influence.
Interesting! I never heard of pastina as a savory dish. As a kid I would have it has a sweet breakfast meal where you cook it, drain, add milk (cold milk but the pasta is still hot so it evens out to being warm) and syrup then eat.
That sounds so good. I have to try this now!
I never heard of pastina
I've always enjoyed it cooked with salt and water, a single chicken bulion cube added during the cooking process, and then serving it with some nice cool milk to balance out the temperature (so it is still warm) and flavor. It is absolutely the perfect balance of savory and sweet comfort for me!
I love seeing this! Our family makes it like a soup and the egg goes in like egg drop soup. Super easy feel good food!
But leftover, it’s just like the porridge version and is fantastic.
Oh man I used to do this as a kid, tiny pasta in chicken broth until it made a porridge like consistency and always thought I was insane for liking it! I feel so validated now!
Seemed like a rush of nostalgia when you tasted it. Nothing brings you back like dishes growing up.
I actually make something really similar with orzo, if you brown the pasta before cooking it adds a really good flavor, though you have to be careful not to burn it
i used to eat this all of the time growing up!!! i haven’t had it in forever…. i hadn’t seen a single person on the internet talk about it before this!!!! awesome video
My Nonna used to make this for me every single time I stayed home sick from school. She'd use less water so that it's pretty much just the pasta and instead of mixing in the egg, she'd just plop one on top. An absolute comfort food
Buttery pastina was sick food in my house growing up. Thanks for helping me revisit/revamp it 💚
Used to eat this all the time for lunch when I was a kid. Days off from school were spent at Grandma & Grandpa's house down the street and my grandma would always make a very simple pastina and a skinned hot dog for me for lunch.
Her version was super simple. I'm pretty sure it was just the pasta with a little salt and water, with a bit more butter added at the end to make up for not having other mix-ins. I never got the recipe or technique from her before she passed because I wasn't old enough to cook a lot, unfortunately. A few years ago though, I managed to figure out how she did it (or close enough). I expand on it a little but it's in the right ballpark. It's a great comfort food that reminds me of those days.
Loved the video, and I can confirm that whenever my sister or I were sick, our mom would make us pastina with chicken & carrots and that's basically the only time we ever ate it. It's engrained itself in my mind as something that ONLY gets eaten when you're sick.
This looks scrumptious!
Finally, an opportunity to use that word!
This gives me strong congee vibes, especially cause me mummers always fed me that when I was sick.
Gotta love how Adam closes his eyes for a moment and seizes up a bit the second he tastes that pastina - it's like he got sent straight back to the past to his younger days
Jesus this video hit some of my nostalgia. my mom used to make this when I was really little and it was cold out. been years since I even thought about this
I actually drain pastina. I know it's kind of weird, but I just mix it up with butter and salt (mostly when I'm not feeling well) and it is perfect. I have chronic migraines and at some point the headache becomes a catch 22 where if I don't eat I have a headache, but the headaches make me feel sick so I don't eat. I've found only two meals that can solve this issue without making me feel worse. One of these foods being pastina. Guess it doesn't matter how you eat it as long as it tastes good.
Mexican here!
Never knew this type of pasta was used like this, I’ve only ever seen people use it in soup, kind of like noodle soup with chicken stock.
This is reminding me of when I was sick as a kid and our dad would make us "star soup"
My jewish mom used to make pastina for me when i was sick and now I'm wondering if she had a secret italian nona she never told me about!
hi i am from Algeria, love your channel
we have this kind of pasta too, it is called "berkoukes". it can be prepared with meat and veggies sometimes as a soupe but i like it when it is prepared simply with carrots and chickpea.
we used to buy it from a lady who prepare the pasta traditionally by hand and it used to be a tradition in every home now it isavailable at every supermarket.
Weird that I earlier this week I was thinking about how my mom used to make Pastina for me when I was sick and that I haven't had it in years. I've never seen it mentioned by anyone online before. I honestly thought it was something her family made up because she told me once that she would eat it when she was sick as a kid also. We are a mostly Italian-American family so it makes perfect sense! Whenever I was really sick my mom would make it with milk for me and I swear that stuff was like magic! Thanks for the nostalgia! Also, never considering making a whole meal out of it. I'll have to try it sometime!
"Pastina" is something Oney would name a cooking game character
This takes me back to my childhood. Never had it when I was sick but it was a great comfort food with just butter and salt. I would say this is one of the first foods I made in my childhood. Seeing it right now makes me want to go to the store and get a couple of boxes so I can make some more in the future.
My grandmother used to make this for me. Chicken broth, parmesan, and butter. I was such a picky kid, she told me it was just plain pasta with nothing in it. I told my mother, who was stuck between the rock and the hard place of keeping up the lie or disappointing me xD
The white wine returns without fail!
i remember my mom giving me pastina with butter not sure how she cooked it but it tasted good as like a soup when you were out playing in the snow
Just wanted to say your VO audio on this is really really good.
In Portugal we have a chicken 🐔 soup - canja - made mostly in a similar fashion, same pasta, but with more water, shredded chicken meat, egg yolk or all egg cooked, chicken guisard and liver and heart. Served hot with big fresh mint leaves. Best medicine ever ❤️🇵🇹
My Sicilians grandmother would make this when we're sick! Only she boiled the pasta until soft then added milk & butter at the end.
It's like an Italian version of cinnamon toast.
im glad there's a term for this that's not 'congee but with pasta'. I use quick cook couscous, just to offend the maximum number of people, but its absolutely my go to on a lazy day. If you wanna piss even more people off, you can make it in a big mug in the microwave. Chop veg, add with stock or stock powder and water and seasoning, microwave until veg is done, add in pasta, stick back in for a minute or two, cover, and let rest. Dinner. Not going to call that version pastina though, don't want to upset people.
I have recently noticed this pasta in the grocery store and wondered. Neat to see both a preparation style and also the number of peope who have many fond memories of it.
My mom's side is Italian, and I used to have this every time I was sick growing up. I never even considered that it was a specific cultural thing passed down.
I can't believe you made this video😭 this is the food I hated the most growing up, but now it's such a sweet memory that I've grown to like it
In Italy we usually cook pastina in broth - like in a soup - rather than making a porrigy risotto thing. One better and easy version are grattini or stracciattella. It's pastina but with egg pasta. You make fresh pasta dough and you basically put it in a food processor and blend it until small pasta bits are obtained. They are then boiled in broth like pastina and they taste soooo good, I promise!
@@JorgTheElder because it's not rocket science, it's baby food. Usually when it gets like this, it's because you forgot it on the stove for a while lol. But if you don't believe me, read the other comments
I never in a million years thought anyone else in the universe knows what pastina is. I have never eaten this in my life without being sick.
My mom used to make this for my brother and I all the time. My brother's always been picky and this was an easy way to get more protein into him by adding more egg. We called it bustine. Don't know why but we did.
Probably just New York Italian American dialect-isms
Hence capicolla-> gabagool
Prosciutto-> prochute
Pasta frijoles -> pasta fazool
@@flamingpi2245 nope, 3 year old brother that didn't have a firm grasp on speaking apparently.
“Let’s make a nutritionally complete meal out of this” proceeds to remove the most nutritious dense aspect of the first recipe
I'm confused
@moomoo9546 i think they're mad he used dried mushrooms to flavour the cooking liquid instead of store brought chicken stock
I had an Italian-American friend who scorned pastina as a kid food but I thought of it as delicious comfort food. It's lovely.
You can substitute cornmeal for the pastina in the first recipe and you're making one of the most popular comfort foods in my home country.
Pastina and chicken stock is one hell of a combo, I love it so much.
If I had known about pastina when I was in university, this would of probably been my default weeknight dinner. Big fan, thank you Adam. Great way of absorbing leftover veg.
The silky texture from the egg is just like tamago kake gohan, same principle at work!
Big fan of the porridge style foods for being sick. My mom would make me a chicken lemon mint rice porridge. Still one of my favorite comfort foods, and it's hecka easy too.
Breakfast of champions. I grew up on it, as did my kids. Not unknown as a comfort dinner on a cold day. Acini de pepe works well; it's a staple in my pantry.
Definitely need to try this. But when you said “veggies you can buy just one of” and there was celery, I instantly said liar because I’ve never been to a store where the smallest amount of celery you could buy wasn’t like a whole freaking pound. That’s why I never buy it because I can maybe use 2 sticks before it all goes bad
It's not super common or all the time, but I've seen grocery stores with individual celery sticks in the produce section.
You can put the celery's base into a cup of water, changing the water whenever you remember to and it'll last a surprisingly long time.
I chop the celery and blanche, dry and freeze it loose on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, I bag and label it. It does not stay crunchy like fresh, but the flavor is good and works in cooked dishes. Never let food go bad. Always try freezing, or dehydrating to save food.
Here are my unsolicited tips for preserving celery:
- assuming the celery you buy at the store has leaves that haven't already gone mushy, as soon as you get home take the celery out of the bag. Shake off excess moisture and then wrap up the celery in paper towel and put it bag in the bag. This will wick away moisture and prolong the life of the celery
- instead of breaking off individual ribs of celery, take what you need off the top. Meaning, cut across all the ribs as much as you need. Since the cut part will always degrade fastest, replacing the cut part with a new fresh cut also extends the life.
I honestly can keep a bag of celery viable in the fridge for over a week or more.
Also, I’ve seen containers of pre-chopped vegetables like celery, onion and carrot. It might be more than you need for the recipe, and definitely more expensive than buying by the bunch, but you could blanch and freeze the leftovers. Or buy the bunch and just use more in your cooking. Onion, celery and carrot are the fundamental building blocks of a whole host of recipes.
Hey buddy. Pastina is what my off the boat from Sicily grandma fed my instead of the cereal that most ppl give to toddlers today. Molte bene’
That's a really comforting dish, and Orzo is indeed quite underused.
Omg you guys mentioned it on your bonus podcast and I'm so happy for this episode
Another recipe I like for this kind of pasta. I get some portion sized pieces of pork, in the pressure cooker I put some olive oil sautee the pork, a little bit of salt and pepper then add water until it's covered and tomato paste, cook for whoever long the pressure cooker needs to cook the pork. Open the lid remove the pork pieces and add the pasta, boil while stirring for 7-10 minutes until done, it should soupy. Add the pork again into the pot, butter and salt pepper to taste. Serve with toasted bread, feta or blue cheese (if you're feeling adventurous)
Heard about this on the pod and am excited to make this. Despite what some rude commenters apparently said, I think your wife is charming, and I’m happy to see how y’all riff off of each other! 🙂
Thank you for the headsup!
I honestly thought that was the best podcast yet. It seemed so much more earnest and interesting without a script and his wife is a delight. I hope they do more of them together.
@@brd24gor Agreed. Lauren added a ton to that episode. Reminded me a bit of the Holderness Family Podcast which I enjoy.
I really hope that they follow up on the funding research. I would love to see a trend of crowd funded research presented presented the in a easily digestible way.
@@EphemeralFlan yeah, it’d be great to see!
My nephew grew up calling this "Grandma's Porridge" and probably never realized until his teen years that it wasn't the same thing Goldilocks and the Three Bears ate. An everyday food in this house!
I really appreciate that you give vegan options, as my partner has a life threatening milk allergy, so I can still follow your great recipes *and* not kill them in the process
Need Adam to tell me what grocery store he goes to that sells single stalks of celery and carrots.
I should try cooking regular pasta in chicken broth - that sounds like an amazing idea
I do it all the time, put a couple of bouillon cubes in the pasta water instead of salting it.
I'm sure Figueroa could find a way to cook pasta using ACN stirred to reflux
My mum use it with more broth so it resembles a soup. In our case pastina is both a comfort food and a normal food. Sometimes if we want it fancier we make it with fish and seafood and that's how we eat it on Christmas Eve.
Thanks from Spain
Aw man, these are memories! We would have it as "stelline", tiny stars of pasta, in vegetable or chicken stock and loads of cheese. I loved it as a kid! Still do.
My mom made a dessert called Frogs Eye Salad using these.
It was really good!
This one really hits home for me. Growing up my mom would always make me pastina when I was sick or when it was cold out.
0:40 this man is so dedicated to using his volumetric measurement habits that he would rather dirty a measuring cup with stock than putting a kitchen scale on his counter and pour the correct amount of liquid directly into the pot.
who cares
This man cooking his rice like pasta and his pasta like rice. Nice.
the idea of adam being a literal professional youtube chef and buying his kids takeout is so randy marsh 🤣