The Pastina Pasta Panic. What Can Save Your Family Soup Recipe?
I'm in a lot of cooking groups on Facebook. As of late, the thing being talked about the most, on ALL the pages is the discontinuation of Ronzoni Pastina. It's a tiny pasta that's shaped like a star with a hole in the middle.
Trust me when I say this is a big deal in the cooking world. Especially my soup group. I'm sad to see it go, but it's just a type of pasta. There are pictures on social media of people buying every box they can find and hoarding it. And as of writing, 3 separate petitions have been started to try and save the petite pasta.
A post shared by Rob Pukash Jr. (@space_ballz)
I don't use it a whole lot, but it is a really nice tiny pasta that I like for a more brothy based soup, not a creamy soup. Like Chicken and Stars. For a lot of people, it was the first pasta they were ever given. It's very popular with parents with very small children.
This really got me thinking, what is there to use now? I searched the net and came up with a few decent options for substitutions. I didn't go into the couscous and things like that. I'm looking for a pasta substitute here.
1. Fregula Used a lot in pasta salads.
2. Ditalini Another salad pasta
3. Orzo Small rice shaped pasta
4. And finally, another company, Rustichella d'Abruzzo, makes a tiny star shaped pasta, as well.
I know they're not the original, but hopefully, this list will help your pasta dishes stay close to what you love.