Pastina with potatoes: a simple dish that's healthy and loved.

It is one of those famous dishes that everyone likes regardless of age. In the early months of life, after breastfeeding, for many it was the first real food, that of weaning! Then, over the years, there is no table where at least a couple of times a year, especially in the colder months, it doesn't make its appearance. It is pastina with potatoes, a must of Italian home cooking among soups. Discover with us at Spaghetti e Mandolino how to prepare excellent pastina with potatoes.

Why does pastina with potatoes do so much good?

Among all possible remedies, no matter the illness, the common denominator for all diseases, the ancient remedy against all ailments, the “undisputed queen” of all feverish and flu meals, has always been, and will always be, pastina in broth, even better if with potatoes.

It is an inexplicable rite whose origins are not known for sure. What is certain, however, is that when experiencing flu symptoms or when one has to keep it light, the first thing that comes to mind is pastina.

With the addition of cheese or with the egg in stracciatella, with meat or vegetable broth, with potatoes, in every childhood memory there is a plate of hot pastina almost ready to burn the lips, which contains, in addition to all the aforementioned ingredients, combinable in different ways, a secret ingredient made at home, it is the love with which that pastina was prepared by our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, making us feel protected and safe.

If we add potatoes to pastina, the marriage is complete. Potatoes, in fact, composed mainly of starch and water, are a product with very few fats and a high energy value, higher than the average of vegetables and more similar to that of legumes. On Spaghetti e Mandolino, you can try delicious organic yellow-fleshed potatoes, they are from Gusta BIO. With the quality of organic, you can be sure to bring to the table a natural product without pesticides.

What pastina to use for the soup with potatoes?

When choosing what type of pastina to use, there are really countless options: tempestine, stelline, corallini, risini, quadrotti and the more, the merrier are just some of the types of pastina you can use for your pastina with potatoes. On Spaghetti e Mandolino, you can find an excellent type of pastina, the famous ditalini made with spelt from pastificio Felicetti.
The spelt for its rusticity requires high-quality products that can penetrate very well into the porous surfaces of this type of wheat. Ditalini are a short pasta great for chickpea and lentil soups, and for pastina with potatoes.

The secrets to making great pastina with potatoes

Have you ever dreamed for a moment of going back to being a child? Thanks to this recipe, you can for a moment imagine you have returned to that time in life where responsibilities didn't exist, where the only job you had was to play, eat, sleep, and explore while waiting to discover the world. Pastina with potatoes is precisely one of those dishes. Making it is really very simple. Here are the ingredients for 4 people: 200 g of pastina, 1 or 2 potatoes depending on size, 1 meat or vegetable cube for the broth, 800 ml of water, salt, oil, and cheese to taste.

And here are the preparation steps: peel the potatoes, wash them, and dry them. Now grate them, or cut them into small pieces with a knife, put everything in a pot with about 800 ml of water, the cube, and a pinch of salt. Place the pot on the stove, bring to a boil, and let it boil for at least ten minutes. Add the pastina, stir, and cook while stirring often for the time indicated on the pastina package. When the pastina is cooked, turn off the heat and season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve the pastina with potatoes hot, accompanied by some Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano grated.

Francesco Scuderi