Ingredients (~6 servings)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (divided)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 6 oz pastina (acini di pepe or stelline)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)
Sear & Poach Chicken Breast
Heat up a large pot on medium heat with olive oil until the oil is hot and sauté your chicken breast until it’s browned on both sides.
Take your dried chicken breast and put it into your hot pot.
In a bowl, combine garlic powder, half of your pepper, and salt and sprinkle on both sides of the chicken breast.
When both sides are nice and brown, pour 1 cup of chicken stock over the chicken breast, cover the pot, and let simmer for approximately 7 minutes.
When the chicken is done cooking (it should reach 165F), it can be undercooked slightly — do not worry, it will continue cooking in the soup.
Remove Chicken & Prep Veggies
Remove chicken from the hot pot with a pair of tongs and place it in a bowl.
Allow the chicken to cool for just a few minutes.
Next, in your same pot over medium-high heat, add your diced onion, carrots, and celery.
Cook for about 15 minutes while stirring constantly until all of the vegetables are soft.
If the mixture gets too dry and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, use a small amount of your additional stock to prevent burning.
Shred Chicken
Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch, shred it by using either two forks, or place in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low for about 30 seconds until the chicken is shredded.
Construct Soup Base
Add your remaining stock, 2 cups of water, and remaining black pepper to your sautéed vegetables.
Cover all the ingredients and cook on high until it comes to a rolling boil.
Cook Pastina & Finish Soup
When your soup reaches a rolling boil, add pastina and stir into soup.
Reduce your heat slightly and allow to boil for about 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
Typically acini di pepe takes the entire 10 minutes to cook while stelline takes about 7 minutes, so keep an eye on the cook time.
To finish your soup, add your shredded chicken and Parmesan cheese and allow to simmer for 2 minutes or until the chicken is warm throughout.
Taste the soup and add additional salt as necessary, depending on how salty your stock was.
Serve immediately on top of additional Parmesan cheese.
If you have leftover soup, store the pastina and broth separately because the pastina will absorb quite a bit of the broth.
Chicken Pastina Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients (~6 servings)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper divided
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 6 oz pastina acini di pepe or stelline
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in soup pot and sear chicken breasts with garlic powder, pepper, and salt for 5 minutes per side.
- Pour 1 cup stock over chicken, cover, and simmer 7 minutes until nearly cooked through.
- Remove chicken and sauté onions, carrots, and celery for 15 minutes until tender.
- Shred chicken using forks or mixer.
- Add remaining stock, water, and pepper to vegetables. Bring to boil.
- Add pastina and cook 10 minutes until al dente.
- Stir in shredded chicken and Parmesan cheese. Simmer 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve with extra Parmesan.
