Are you texturally driven when it comes to what you will and won't eat? I am very texture-focused when it comes to foods, but that doesn't mean I'm picky. It just means I notice the textures and if I like them I like them a LOT, and if I hate them, I don't want anything to do with them. As a kid, I loved the canned chicken and stars soups. But the wet chicken chunks kind of grossed me out, so the dog often got them. And that brings us to this version of chicken and stars soup with no chicken meat.
Once I found out they sell actual star shaped pasta in grocery stores, I knew I had to make my own version! It is often called pastina or stelline, depending on the size and shape. Stelline is often a little larger and has a hole in the middle, while pastina is smaller and does not have a hole.
If you can't find star shaped pasta, any small pasta like orzo, alphabet pasta, or even Israeli couscous would work in this soup. Small is key — something like elbow macaroni would start to seem less soup-like, but use your own discretion.
A Few Words on Seasoning This Soup
I noted this in the recipe but it's worth repeating. Depending on the chicken stock you use and your taste preferences, you may want to add varying amounts of these herbs and spices to make this soup your own. This is especially true if you decide to make this a vegetarian chicken-less soup, but see more on that below. I've added all of the above in different amounts, but here's my favorite flavor combo:
- One pinch of thyme
- One shake of turmeric
- One small shake of tarragon
- Two shakes of white pepper
- Celery salt to taste
- Two or three shakes of parsley (mostly for color)
Taste and finish off with salt and pepper, and taste once more.
Chicken and Stars Soup Without Chicken Meat
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic
- ⅓ cup carrot, shredded or tiny diced
- ⅓ cup celery tiny diced or thinly sliced
- 4 cups chicken stock (see note for veg version)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup pastina or stelline pasta
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
- Spices: thyme, turmeric, tarragon, parsley, celery salt, white pepper season to taste for preferred flavor
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.
- Once shimmering, add the carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until barely beginning to brown.
- Add the chicken stock, water, and pasta. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiled, simmer over medium low heat for 6-7 minutes. Season to taste with herbs in recipe as desired while simmering, see note on herb and spice additions.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Notes
- One pinch of thyme
- One shake of turmeric
- One small shake of tarragon
- Two shakes of white pepper
- Celery salt to taste
- Two or three shakes of parsley (mostly for color)
Make it a Chicken-less Vegetarian Chicken and Stars Soup
So, here's the deal. You can make this vegetarian by simply subbing in your favorite chicken-less broth. The quality and flavor varies greatly, but if you're eating vegetarian, you probably have tried a few by now. You can sub in your favorite here, but you'll want to pay closer attention to the seasonings, adjusting and tasting as you go, see the note above. The soup liquid is half of the taste and reason to eat soup, so it has to be really good!
A few ones I've liked and tried are:
- Edward and Sons Not Chick'n Cubes
- Imagine Foods No Chicken Broth (I remember this being a little flavor lacking, I think)
- Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
Looking for More Soup?
