St. Anne Thimble & Thread Pasta in Chicken Noodle Soup

There are two types of pasta I found whose names are associated with sewing in some way – ditalini and filini.

Ditalini is short tube pasta which means “little thimble.” It is a common soup pasta, typically found in minestrone.  I found it fun that this pasta is also sometimes called Ave Maria or Pater noster, as that was about the amount of time it needed to cook the pasta – the time it would take to say that prayer.  Filini is a very thin, small cut strand pasta. The name in Italian literally means “small strands” (or threads).  These are best for light, broth based soups or cooking with rice.  In the United States we usually find it packaged as fideo. 

Today, July 26, is the memorial of St. Anne and St. Joachim the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Since St. Anne is the patron of sewing and seamstresses, it would be fitting to make something using the “sewing” named pastas – “Thimbles and Threads”.

St. Clare of Assisi is the patroness of embroidery and needlework. Assisi is known for its beautiful needlework and embroidery and “Assisi embroidery” is a distinct type of cross-stitch.  Clare would have learned this skill herself as a girl. So her feast day, August 11 would be another opportunity to make this dish as well. And since the BVM is a patron of sewing as well, so any of her feast days, I would include, too.

Since they are both soup pastas I was looking for a broth based soup to use a combo of these two pastas and I decided on chicken noodle – a basic staple soup associated with comfort and healing.

Chicken Noodle Soup

½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onions
4 cans chicken broth
½ pound cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
½ t. basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup of pasta

In large pot sauté onion and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add broth, chicken, and herbs/spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add dry pasta when close to serving. Needs to cook for 5-8 minutes until tender. Serve.

St. Anne, pray for us!

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