Recipe: Nonna Povera Pastina

I loved this recipe as a little girl. It's an old Italian recipe that we had a lot because it was so affordable. Now I make it for my husband. Someday I will make it for my children.

It is one of my favorite foods in the whole world. It's good alone or with steak and broccoli. It is the ultimate comfort food. My mother always called this recipe Pastina, which means "little pasta" in Italian. The technical name of the recipe is "Pastina with Egg." I affectionately call it "Nonna Povera Pastina" which literally means "Poor Grandmother Little Pasta" because it's such an afforable meal. If I ever write the cookbook I'm planning on writing this recipe will be one of the first recipes in it. It has only four ingredients and it's an excellent vegetarian meal all by itself. Enjoy!

Nonna Povera Pastina

Ingredients:
1 C Acini de Pepe (Pronouced Ah-Chee-Nay Day Pep-ay. De Cecco makes it but it can be hard to find. I'd suggest trying Meijer or Kroger. If you can't find it just get the smallest pasta you can find)
4 Eggs
2 T butter
Salt to taste

Directions:
Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil. Boil acini de pepe until tender. Meanwhile, in a seperate bowl, beat 4 eggs. Drain pasta and return to pot. Reduce heat to low and stir in egg, butter and salt. Cook until just set, but not scrambled (You don't want it to be dry.) Serve immediately.

Traditionally parmesean cheese and/or pepper are added to this recipe. I never liked it that way, but several of my family members eat it that way. This recipe makes four one-cup servings.


Nutritional information per Cup (1/4 C dry): Calories 320, Fat 11 g, Carbs 42 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 13 g.
Weight Watchers Points: 7