Ultimate Italian Penicillin Soup: Quick, Comforting Chicken Soup for Colds and Healing
When you need serious comfort food that heals, this Italian Penicillin Soup recipe is what you are looking for. This authentic soup uses simple ingredients to create a deeply satisfying, restorative bowl.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 35 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 cup pastina pasta (or other tiny soup pasta)
- 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (optional, omit for vegetarian)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until the vegetables soften.
- Pour in the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.
- If using chicken, add the shredded chicken now.
- Stir in the pastina pasta. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the pasta is tender.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese until they melt into the broth.
- Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to your preference.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with fresh parsley.
Notes
- For an immune boosting soup, add a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice right before serving to brighten the flavor.
- You can easily make this a gluten free soup by ensuring your pastina is certified gluten free, or by substituting with rice.
- This is a freezer friendly soup; cool completely before storing in airtight containers for later use.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 650
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 7
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 15
- Cholesterol: 25