Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Minestrina!!!!!

There are two events on the food-blog-sphere dedicated to some sort of comfort food these days: one is the 'Monthly Mingle', hosted by Meeta at 'What's for lunch, honey', themed in fact simply 'Comfort foods'; the other is the 'Click' event started by the Jugalbandi band, themed 'Liquid comfort'.
My decision is to present the food that has been the comfort food during all my youth, and still is. As it happens to be liquid, it goes greatly for both events. The thing is: it's really nothing fancy at all! But then again, otherwise it wouldn't be a true comfort food.. It's actually the fear of every Italian child, because it doesn't contain anything really super tasty, or sweet, or child appealing. But in my family, it has always been regarded as something really nice and comforting to have, and it reminds me of my mom and my grandma, who'd prepare it for all of us, especially when one was sick. I'm speaking of 'Minestrina' (lit. small minestra, which is kind of like a soup)! It's nothing but a very simple broth, with some small type of pasta in, and some olive oil and parmigiano cheese grated on top, if one needed to add some more nutrients to feel even better. It's been really hard to try to get a flattering picture of this really simple subject. This is the best I could come up with, and I'm going to present it to 'Click' in any case, although I realize it doesn't really compare to the other entries. :)

Minestrina
To make minestrina, you just need to have some vegetable broth (prepared with boiled onions and carrots and celeries, or simply with a vegetable bouillon), and boil some small pasta in it. The ratio of pasta to broth is all depending on your taste. I'm more for liquidy minestrina, but my dad likes more pasta, for example. Here you see stelline (little stars). Before serving, add some olive oil and parmigiano if you feel like. It needs to be eaten hot, and it will make you feel warmed up and comforted and loved!
It goes right to Meeta and Bee and Jai for their 'Monthly Mingle' and 'Click' events, respectively!

2 comments:

Namratha said...

The pasta looks adorable Marta, such a simple and nice dish ...good entry!!

Simona Carini said...

La minestrina! This is a perfect rendition of childhood memories. Thanks.