Chef Klaus
Allgäuer Käsesuppe
The Allgäu's Alpine cheese soup works only if the Bergkäse melts gently off the heat, where it turns smooth instead of stringy.
Culinary Explorer
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Flädlesuppe
Created by
A southern German clear soup of real beef broth and thin pancake ribbons, where the whole dish depends on keeping the broth clean and the Flädle tender.
Soups & Stews
German
Weeknight
Comfort Food
25 min
Active Time
3 hr cook•3 hr 25 min total
Yield6 servings
Flädlesuppe belongs to Swabia and Baden first: clear broth, thin pancakes cut into ribbons, chives on top, nothing hiding. It sits on the table as a Sunday starter when the stockpot has done its work, and just as well on a weeknight when yesterday's pancakes are waiting. In Austria and Bavaria they say Frittatensuppe; in Baden and Swabia, Flädlesuppe. Same family, different kitchen. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders.
The disagreement is usually the broth. Some cooks will make it from beef bones and soup meat, some lighter from chicken or vegetables, but the southern plate wants a clear, strong broth that tastes like bones, onion, leek, and time. Nicht aus dem Glas. A stock cube gives salt and brown water. Bones give body, and the little bit of fat on top carries the flavour.
The technique that decides it is simple: the pancake ribbons go into the hot broth at the last moment, never boiled in it. Boil them and they swell, tear, and cloud the soup. Warm them through and they stay silky, with clean edges and a little bite. The broth must shimmer, not roll hard. Runter mit der Temperatur.
I cut the Flädle thin, about the width of a little finger, and put them into warmed bowls before the broth goes over. That way the soup stays clear and the ribbons keep their shape. Chives at the end. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.
Flädlesuppe is rooted in the southern German and Austrian habit of using leftover Eierkuchen, thin egg pancakes, as a soup garnish rather than wasting them. The name Flädle is Alemannic and Swabian, while the Austrian and Bavarian name Frittaten comes through Italian frittata, a reminder that this soup sits along old south German and Alpine cooking routes. Its rise as a Gasthof and Sunday starter in Baden-Württemberg fits the nineteenth-century household stockpot: bones, soup meat, and vegetables first, then a clean broth stretched with a cheap egg-and-flour garnish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef bones
Quantity
1kg
marrow and joint bones if possible
beef soup meat
Quantity
500g
shin or brisket
onions
Quantity
2
halved
carrots
Quantity
2
roughly chopped
leek
Quantity
1
cleaned and roughly chopped
celeriac or celery stalks
Quantity
1 small celeriac or 2 stalks
roughly chopped
bay leaf
Quantity
1
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons, plus more to taste
cold water
Quantity
2 litres
plain flour
Quantity
150g
eggs
Quantity
3
milk
Quantity
250ml
salt for pancake batter
Quantity
1 pinch
neutral oil or clarified butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for the pan
chives
Quantity
1 small bunch
finely snipped
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef bonesmarrow and joint bones if possible | 1kg |
| beef soup meatshin or brisket | 500g |
| onionshalved | 2 |
| carrotsroughly chopped | 2 |
| leekcleaned and roughly chopped | 1 |
| celeriac or celery stalksroughly chopped | 1 small celeriac or 2 stalks |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| salt | 2 teaspoons, plus more to taste |
| cold water | 2 litres |
| plain flour | 150g |
| eggs | 3 |
| milk | 250ml |
| salt for pancake batter | 1 pinch |
| neutral oil or clarified butterfor the pan | 1 tablespoon |
| chivesfinely snipped | 1 small bunch |
| freshly ground black pepper (optional) | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large stockpot, 5 to 6 litres
- •Fine sieve
- •Nonstick or well-seasoned frying pan, 24cm
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Start the broth
Put the bones and soup meat in a large pot with the cold water and bring it up slowly. Starting cold pulls flavour and gelatine from the bones before the outside tightens, so the broth has body instead of only salt. Skim the grey foam as it rises, because that foam turns a clear soup muddy if you stir it back in.
For a deeper colour, brown the cut faces of the onions in a dry pan until dark before they go into the pot. The onion gives colour and sweetness without making the broth heavy. - 2
Simmer it clean
Add the onions, carrots, leek, celeriac, bay, peppercorns, and salt, then lower the heat until the surface only trembles. A hard boil breaks fat and protein into the liquid and clouds the soup; a quiet simmer keeps the broth clean. Cook for about 3 hours, skimming when needed.
- 3
Rest the batter
Whisk the flour, eggs, milk, and a pinch of salt into a smooth, pourable batter, then let it stand for 20 minutes. Resting lets the flour hydrate, so the pancakes fry thin and flexible instead of rubbery. If the batter thickens too much, loosen it with a spoon or two of milk.
- 4
Fry thin pancakes
Film a nonstick or well-seasoned pan with a little oil or clarified butter and fry thin pancakes over medium heat, just pale gold on each side. Keep them thin, because thick pancakes drink the broth and turn heavy. Stack them on a plate as they come off the pan.
- 5
Cut the Flädle
Roll each pancake loosely and slice it across into fine ribbons, about 5mm wide. Cutting them while cool keeps the edges clean; cut them hot and they stick together. Flädle means little pancakes, and in the bowl they should sit like ribbons, not clumps.
- 6
Strain the broth
Lift out the meat and vegetables, then strain the broth through a fine sieve. Do not press the vegetables through the sieve, because that gives you more volume and less clarity. Taste the broth now and salt it properly; the pancakes are mild, so the broth has to carry the dish.
- 7
Serve at once
Put a handful of Flädle into warm bowls and ladle the hot broth over them. Do not boil the ribbons in the pot, because they swell, tear, and cloud the broth. Finish with chives and a little black pepper, then serve straight away while the ribbons are silky and the broth is clear.
Chef Tips
- •Make the broth from bones and soup meat. Weggeworfen wird nichts: marrow bones, joint bones, and a piece of shin are exactly the parts that give a clear soup its body.
- •If you have leftover plain pancakes, use them. That is the thrift logic of the dish. Sweet pancakes with sugar in the batter belong somewhere else.
- •Keep the pancakes pale gold, not crisp. A crisp pancake is good in the hand and wrong in the bowl; it softens unevenly and breaks.
- •Chives are enough. Parsley is common, but chives cut cleaner through the beef broth and keep the bowl southern and plain.
Advance Preparation
- •The broth can be made 2 days ahead and chilled. Lift off the set fat, then warm the broth gently so it stays clear.
- •The pancakes can be fried a day ahead, stacked, covered, and refrigerated. Slice them shortly before serving so the ribbons do not dry out.
- •The cooked soup meat is not garnish for this bowl unless you want it there. Slice it for mustard and bread, or cut it into tomorrow's salad. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 350g)
Calories
240 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
115 mg
Sodium
940 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
13 g
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