Name: First Pastina in Brodo (Pastina in Brodo)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Vegetable broth (recipe 01), unsalted; A small handful of tiny pastina (stelline, anellini or similar small semolina shapes); Extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, added raw at the end

Ingredients

Vegetable broth (recipe 01), unsalted
A small handful of tiny pastina (stelline, anellini or similar small semolina shapes)
Extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, added raw at the end

Method

Bring the vegetable broth to a gentle boil in a small saucepan.
Add the pastina and cook according to the packet time, usually 4-6 minutes, stirring often as pastina can stick.
Cook until the pastina is very soft, a little softer than the packet suggests for adults, since babies need a fully tender bite.
Remove from the heat and stir through a small drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil.
Cool to a safe, warm temperature before serving, pastina holds heat, so stir and test before offering.

Age adaptations

6-8 months

Cook the pastina very soft and serve loose and soupy, almost like a thin porridge, so it is easy to swallow with minimal chewing needed.

9-12 months

Cook until soft but slightly thicker, less liquid, more like a spoonable minestra. The tiny shapes are already a safe early self-feeding food to practise with a pre-loaded spoon.

12+ months

Serve at a family-style consistency, thicker and less brothy. This is a good stage to let your child use their own spoon with some help.

Storage

Best made fresh in small batches and eaten straight away, cooked pastina turns soft and starchy on standing and does not reheat or freeze well. If you want to prepare ahead, freeze the plain vegetable broth (recipe 01) in portions and cook a fresh small batch of pastina in it whenever you need a meal, this only takes a few minutes.

For the family

Cook a larger pot of pastina in the same broth for the grown-ups, seasoning with salt and extra olive oil after your baby's portion has been taken out, or add a spoonful of grated cheese to the adult bowls only.

Safety notes

Pastina is wheat semolina, so this recipe carries a gluten allergen tag; gluten can be introduced within the normal weaning window and there is no reason to delay it. If the broth was made with celery, that allergen tag carries through too. Always cook pastina until fully soft; tiny shapes like stelline and anellini are naturally choking-safe once cooked properly, but always serve seated, supervised and unhurried.

First Pastina in Brodo (Pastina in Brodo)