Pancake soup

This unusual soup features thin pancakes rolled and cut, and dropped into a clear, light meat-based soup. It's considered a humble dish that's much-loved by Germans.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2:30 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef brisket, excess fat trimmed or gravy beef
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 1 clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 slice of celeriac (or 1 stick celery)
• 2 carrots
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 litres hot water
• 200 g (1 ⅓ cups) plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 500 ml (2 cups) milk
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp chives, finely sliced

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

Rinse the beef under cold water and place in a large saucepan with onion, clove, bay leaf, celeriac, carrots and salt. Cover with hot water, bring to the boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until well flavoured, skimming regularly to remove foam with a mesh skimmer. Remove oil from the top of the stock with a spoon. Pour the broth through a sieve and season with salt and pepper.

Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and milk, season to taste and whisk until well combined. Set aside for 30 minutes to rest.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, spoon ¼ cup of pancake mixture into the pan, swirling to make a thin coating. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and pancake is golden underneath. Turn over and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan between each batch.

Roll up the pancakes and cut into thin slices. Place the pancake slices into the broth and serve immediately, garnished with chives.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Michelle Noerianto.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.