When I was little and I didn’t feel well, my mom always made me pastina. My dad would always jokingly refer to it as Italian penicillin and that it could cure anything. I do the same for my kids now…for many reasons. One being that despite the fact that I am a proud Italian mother, which I annoyingly mention in every conversation I have with friends, I really don’t enjoy cooking as much as the other women in my family. Sorry, Nonna, the homemade sauce stops with you! However, I do want my kids to eat healthy the majority of the time. I’m sure they would love it if I let them eat chicken fingers and French fries every night, but my motherly instincts know better than that. When my kids need a little comfort, I like to make them pastina. It’s so simple and easy, and also relatively inexpensive. All you need are a few things to get you started and time luckily isn’t one of them. My third child, wild man Tristan, never lets me put him down, so dinner time is usually hard for me. Introducing pastina, my savior! To make pastina, you’ll need one box from any pasta brand. Pastina looks like little stars. I just boil water and then add pastina with one egg. Mix the egg with a fork and add some chicken broth. Voila. That’s it. When you drain the pasta, you can leave a little extra water if your kids like it soupy. When you’re ready to serve it, top it off with Pecorino Romano cheese and enjoy! I can guarantee your kids will love it. The only negative for me was that Tristan would eat it with his hands and I would find the stars in his hair, ears, and all over my kitchen! The cleanup took longer than the preparation, but I have photos and videos of pastina time that still make me laugh. He loved it so much that he couldn’t get it into his mouth fast enough!
