Last Updated on 3 years by Tim
This week I’m sharing an extremely simple and quick recipe with you. In case you have some leftover pancakes and beef broth laying around this pancake soup can be thrown together in five minutes.
Whenever my mother made pancakes there were usually a lot of leftovers. So the next day we would be eating this pancake soup as an entree for dinner. It’s a common homecooked dish all around Southern Germany. It always reminds me of noodle soup although with a different texture.
Table of Contents
Using homemade beef broth will make this pancake soup outstanding
As with all recipes that require few ingredients, the quality of each of these ingredients is of utmost importance. I cannot stress enough the importance of using a homemade beef broth for this recipe. Chicken broth would be fine too, however, it lacks the flavor depth and body of beef broth.
As discussed in my basics series, broths can be made in large batches and then either frozen or sterilized. I always have a few sterilized mason jars with homemade broths in my pantry.
Whenever I run out of broth, I take one rainy Sunday afternoon and cook a large batch of new broth. It’s very low effort and requires just a little dedication but it will take the flavor of your dishes to the next level.
Homemade broths are usually left unseasoned until you are ready to use them. That way they can be used in a wide variety of dishes without having the risk of oversalting the finished dish.
How to season your beef broth
For a clear beef broth, also known as consommé in French cuisine, I like to keep my seasoning simple and to the point. I add some red wine vinegar to cut through the richness of the broth and to brighten up the flavor.
The only spice I season the broth with is nutmeg. It’s one of my favorite spices but in case you don’t like it you could also leave it out.
As with all dishes, your taste dictates how much salt the broth needs. It should be just enough so that you can notice the full depth of flavor from the broth.
Use leftover pancakes from the day before
I already explained how to make German pancakes in my basics series. Go back to this post in case you need some guidance on the process.
For this dish, the pancakes get cut into slivers, about 1/4 inch thick. These slivers are called ‘Flädle’ in the German language, hence the name of this dish. In Austrian cuisine, they are known as ‘Frittaten’. So, if you’re ever offered a ‘Frittatensuppe’ at an Austrian restaurant, it’s the same thing as this dish.
The pancake slivers don’t need to be cooked inside the broth as they would turn mushy. For serving pancake soup, the piping hot broth is ladled over the cold pancake slivers at the table right before serving. The dish is then sprinkled with chervil leaves or chives and ready to be eaten.
German Pancake soup (‘Flädlesuppe’)
Ingredients
- 6 cups beef broth
- red wine vinegar, to taste
- freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 4 German pancakes
- a handful of chervil leaves or chopped chives
Instructions
- Heat the beef broth until lightly simmering. Season to taste with a pinch of red wine vinegar, nutmeg, and salt.
- Roll up the pancakes and cut them into 1/4-inch slivers.
- Divide the pancake slivers among four soup bowls and ladle the hot broth on top. Sprinkle with chervil leaves or finely minced chives and serve immediately.
Just made this with leftover pancakes from yesterday. Excellent!
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