April 17th
2007
Just like salt and pepper, stock made from meats or vegetables is a standard ingredient in many, many recipes we cook. Back in the days when I was a student (wow somehow that sounds really weird, will I get punished with gray hair by just having said this?), I was quite indifferent – really, I couldn’t care less about what exactly I used in my recipes, broth powder, stock cubes from the supermarket? No problem, they did the job! Glutamate, flavor enhancers? What was that again?
With my taste buds becoming more and more picky and my increasing knowledge and interest about everything edible, my shopping habits changed naturally over time: besides many other things, ordinary salt was substituted by sea salt – crumbling the large crystals of fleur de sel with my fingers over a freshly cooked dish has become an indispensable ritual – and of course yucky broth powder quickly lost its place on my spice board.
Today, whenever possible, we try to avoid artificial flavor enhancers like MSG (monosodium glutamate, E 621). Glutamate being responsible for the umami taste (savory to meaty) and while occurring naturally in many vegetables like tomatoes and cheese, is accused of negative health effects like the “Chinese restaurant syndrome“, a definite scientific evidence is missing though. Besides its appetizing effect, one’s taste buds get accustomed to it and ask for more, in contrast, the natural taste of ingredients might be perceived as boring and dull. All valid reasons for avoiding artificially added MSG when possible, don’t you think?
“Some would say that the public’s widespread distrust of MSG has deeply moved food makers—not to take glutamate out of their food, but to find ways of delivering it under unassuming pseudonyms.”
Slate, May 2006
The simplest, not necessarily the quickest solution is to only use homemade stock. Chances are it’ll taste a heck of a lot better, too. Sadly our freezer has the size of a bigger shoe box, hence I cannot prepare tons of stock in advance, but there is hardly a stock making experience without leaving some leftovers that I usually freeze in an ice cube tray. Popping some of them in any pasta sauce makes it go from palatable to MORISH.
Since I’m always in for a secret weapon, I was dying to try Alexander Herrmann’s homemade stock powder (recipe in German, illustrated with pictures), but am not yet satisfied with the results – the tiny amount of stock powder I yielded did not quite justify the masses of veggies and effort I put in. (Different vegetables get chopped in the food processor together with sea salt, then spread on a baking tray and dried at low temperature over night, finally powdered using a food processor again.)
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Besides the omnipotent chicken noodle soup, a traditional pancake soup (“Flädlesuppe” in German) is probably my second favorite way to eat home cooked broth. To add some eye candy and as a subtle spring flavor, chopped chives zap up the thin pancakes.
The vegetable stock:
Heat up a large pot and add a little olive oil or butter, together with the quartered onions and roast them while stirring. If they gain a little more color than necessary no worries (in fact it’ll add a nice taste), just be careful to not completely turn them into charcoal. Add the chopped vegetables, the cold water as well as the spices & herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium/low and let simmer without the lid for up to an hour.
Pour through a fine mesh sieve or cloth (I prefer a clear stock) into a large bowl, pressing down well on the vegetables with a ladle, then discard them. Pour the soup back into the pot, reheat and season to taste. For the last five minutes add the sliced carrots, which will remain in the soup.
The pancakes:
In a large bowl add the flour, the salt and the eggs, beat until combined (don’t overdo it), then add the milk and blend well. Sticking to these steps in the described order will help to avoid annoying lumps. Let rest for 15 minutes, then add the chopped chives.
Heat a preferably non-stick pan over medium to high heat and add a teaspoon of clarified butter. If a drop of water thrown into the pan starts to sizzle, you can continue with your first pancake.
Pour a ladle of batter in the middle of the pan and move it swiftly until the batter coveres the complete pan bottom and forms a nice round shape. Flip as soon as the bottom side shows signs of golden brown spots, then bake on the other side and remove from the pan. Add some more clarified butter to the pan and start over again until all of the batter is used up.
After the pancakes have cooled down a bit, roll each pancake tightly and cut into thin rolls.
Place a hand full of the sliced pancakes in a bowl and pour the hot soup over them. Decorate with chopped chives and serve hot.
Pancake soup
Recipe source: own creation
Prep time: ~1 hours
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Ingredients (serves 4):
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vegetable stock
(all vegetable amounts can be adapted to your taste and pantry, you can also use tomatoes, celery stalks, turnips, zucchini, cabbage, mushrooms, etc.)
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 onion, quartered (with skin, washed)
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 potatoes, quartered (with skin, washed)
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 celery tuber, coarsely chopped
2 leek, coarsely chopped (only the white/light green parts)
1.5l water
2 bay leaves
sea salt, coarsely ground black pepper and nutmeg
fresh thyme and parsley (amounts to taste)
sliced carrots (remain in soup)
for decoration: chopped chives
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pancakes with chives (yields 5 pancakes)
125g all-purpose flour
two large eggs
salt
250ml milk
5 tbsp of chopped chives (or more)
clarified butter for the pan
I remember having enjoyed this soup in Austria years ago, it was so, so good! Homemade stock is much better than the store bought stuff, but being the lazy cook I am, I still use cubes from time to time.
mmm.. does pancakes look yummy on their own! The problem for me with making stock is my inability to get a depth in taste, even tho i add tons of vegetables, or chicken/pork bones... it is always so mild... i'm probably doing something wrong....
Selbstgemachte Pfannkuchensuppe, mjam, die gabs immer bei meiner Omi. Selbst gemacht hab ich die noch nicht, aber bald! Von Herrmannns Brühpulver hab ich schon gehört, aber bisher den Aufwand gescheut. War es geschmacklich denn mit gekauften Produkten vergleichbar?
I'd love to say that I always use home made stock - but sometimes I don't.
I do take care to buy only "real" stock cubes though, as opposed to the high salt (and MSG) varieties that haven't ever seen a chicken (if indeed, it's chicken stock).
Of course for the sake of the environment we should all do our bit and stop "wasting" animals, and really should start boiling the bones to create delicious (and free!) stocks.
Failure to do so just increases the need for more battery hens etc since we aren't even using the ones we buy to the fullest. This will just drive down animal welfare even further in the long term.
hi there. so your are back and blogging again? i thought we lost you...
das selbergemachte brühpulver auch schon ausprobiert. zuviel tomate drinnen. ich habs nochmals versucht mit mehr sellerie. dann wars auch nicht recht... will try again. often just cook in some boiling water whats left after peeling an onion, a carrot, a celery and some other veggies that just hang around in my kitchen and use them as a broth (while the risotto is already cooking). eas y peasy and works most of the time. sometimes need to season with an extra dash of parmesan cheese - but it's delish.
Yay for real broth! So sorry you don't have space for more of it in your freezer. Last year for my birthday I requested and received a large chest freezer that is now in my basement. Among other things, it has 42 cups of chicken broth waiting to be turned into other things. This pancake soup might just be one of them. Question: Have your tried making stock and reducing it down to make what Julia Child called a semi-demi-glacé? That might help solve your space problem.
I love reading your blog and am happy to say that you inspire me to try new things - thanks!
It's very good idea : pancake and soup ...
For recipes calling for less than 1 cup of stock - I use stock "paste" concentrate - stored in the refrigerator - it lasts a long time and tastes so much better than powder. Many restaurants use it too. Its convenient - if I only need 1/2 cup I don't have to open a can of broth.
I am a frugal cook, so I boil bones as much as I can. To make it easier and faster, I use a pressure cooker (takes 45 min)
I also sometimes use chicken powder to flavor my fried rice when I don't want to add any more liquid to the cooking.
Homemade stock I am all about. Luckily a local market sells some awesome stuff frozen if I don't have any on hand. The pancakes are a must try for me. Thanks for the tip!
I swear by Better Than Boullon, a paste-like soup base. You can see them here:
http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm
I will have this tonight, with homemade chicken broth. Thank you for sharing, looks delish!
I prefer home made version.
Although it is a bit of a hassle to make stock from scratch, it feels so much better to know exactly what I am eating (because packaged goods have too many chemicals that are not easily identifiable). Also, homemade versions taste better and healthier.
Hi
is it possible to make the pancakes in advance? A couple of hours? The it would be good for having guests.
my grandmother was Austrian and she made soups like this - absolutely yummy!
This looks delish, so simple, yet so elegant. With the crummy weather we've been having lately, this might be just the thing to perk me up today. Thanks a ton for the inspiration Nicky! :)
Hi aus Chile! By a month ago I found myself looking for this recipe on the Internet; and suddenly zaz! I find it here on my favourite food-related website. This soup particularly reminds me of my 4-month "Schüleraustausch" in Germany in Baden-Württemberg 1991. Thank you!
[...] Pancake Soup (delicious days) Gemüsesuppe mit Pfannkuchen [...]
I try to make my stock but have to admit there are times when it just isn't possible so I use a good quality premade. I love your pancakes and soup combo. Great comfort food and I will have to try your pancakes!
Well I am still a student so I guess I still can use bought stock without having a bad conscience ;-). When I am big one day *lol*, I will definitely try to cook some. But nowadays, with little time and a tiny tiny freezer I think it would be quite difficult.
Ich benutze je nach dem entweder selbstgemachte Fonds wie bei z.B. dieser Rinderkraftbrühe mit Pfannkucheneinlage oder Risotto mit Kartoffeln, Frühlingszwiebeln und Mozzarella oder Reis mit Pilzen und Bacon. Wenn keine selbstgemachten Fond szur Verfügung stehen kaufe ich entweder hochwertige Fertigfonds oder Pulver ohne Geschmacksverstärker. Für alle Fälle habe ich immer Gemüsebrühe aus dem Reformhaus ohne Geschmacksverstärker im Hause.
In the US I remember you could buy frozen stock, but I've never been able to find either the frozen or the canned stock here in Switzerland (or in France, when I lived there). I wonder if I'm looking in the right shops/racks! I make my own stock sometimes but agree with one commenter, I find it a little bland despite oodles of vegetables and hours of simmering.
That's funny I recently made almost the same soup with home-made (as always) beef stock and I baked tiny herb-Pfannkuchen and filled them with meat balls I cooked in the broth for one of those famousr "weekend herb blogging" events.
I have absolutely no place to store a lot of things. But chicken, beef and vegetable stock I reduce as much as possible and store them in a twist-off jar. With 5 persons in my household they last only for 2 weeks. From time to time I make even things like veal and lamb jus.
You can't compare that taste to anything else. Only this is the real (and healthy) stuff.
Zehr lecker! We haven't had this soup since we lived in Munich, and the day you posted this, it was a rainy, cool day in Colorado...perfect weather for Pfannkuchensuppe. The clincher was the chives we have growing in the backyard which are just now big enough for cutting! The veggie stock was incredible- especially with the flavor of the roasted onions, and the pancakes were so tasty. Dave ate two bowls (well, maybe so did I) and Sofia even liked it! Thank you for sharing!
As for me and homemade stock... I'm all about it. But I REALLY got into making all of my own stocks when we moved to Munich. My two-word German vocab didn't allow for "MSG-Free" or even "chicken" or "beef stock" for that matter, so I never bought any in the store. By the time I learned all of that, I was sold on homemade stocks, all of the time. Sadly, our freezer was the size of a SMALL shoebox, so there was no storing extra for later for us either.
These days, I have to admit, I now keep store-bought organic chicken and beef stock on hand for last minute cooking... I do keep homemade stock in the freezer but sometimes, ya just run out! I don't want that to stand between me and a reduction or a risotto.
Oh WOW. I have never seen anything like this recipe, how EXCITING. Oancake soup! I LOVE it!
As for MSG, its just a form of salt (monoSODIUM) ...they get it from seaweed...it's just intense and easy to overuse. (BTW, I have NO clue why Im defending it, since I avoid it too, but I thought I would point that out...)
I have GOT to try this recipe though, thanks for such a stunning idea!
Cheers,
Rachael
This looks so pretty and the pancakes themselves look fabulous- I think my kids will be intrigued by pancake soup!
I do love to make stock, but I confess I often add a bit of chicken or beef concentrate, the type made with all meat that needs to be refrigerated. Better than Bouillon brand is ok, but my favorite is probably Penzeys or the brand they sell at Costco, whatever that it. Not helpful information for someone who lives in Europe, I realize. I'm quite intrigued by this recipe for Pancake Soup. It reminds me of my mom's homemade noodles, which we claled "fat noodles" when I was a kid.
I will have to serve my pancake all curled up like yours the next time. So creative and pretty. :)
Unrelated to pancakes I know, but I thought I'd let tell you that I made gougeres for the first time yesterday, having been alerted to their deliciousness by one of your posts quite a while ago and this also included the link to a recipe. Thanks so much for that, I was really pleased with them and they are on the list of things to make again as soon as possible!!
Greetings from Norfolk, UK
Serene, Try roasting the bones and some vegetables upfront, this adds a deeper flavor and a nice color, too.
Mary, Semi-demi-glacé has been on my to-try-list for ages, maybe I will finally surrender?
Myriam, Not lost, but hunting for good impressions at the Côte d’Azur ;) Stay tuned...
Entertaining Friends, I sometimes make a few pancakes (for the soup) a couple of hours in advance and keep them wrapped in foil in the fridge, but I see no reason to not leave them there over night. Just take them out of the fridge about an hour before you want to use them, so they can warm up to room temperature and you can be sure they won't still be cold after adding to the soup. Of course you can always cook them in the soup for one or two minutes, but the pancakes tend to become quite mushy then, so I can't recommend doing that.
Hi Kathi, No bad conscience required! You're way farther than I was at the time ;)
Hi Stephanie, Love to hear we provided a little Munich-feeling with this recipe ;) Missing vocabulary is a very charming way to fall for homemade stock, don't you think? Sadly the German freezer manufacturers don't properly support the home cook by keep selling to many shoe box sized freezers - if I had your American version (and a larger kitchen), I'd be a happy girl!
Hello Deborah, The soup is perfect for kids, I always loved to play with the curled up pancakes in my bowl ... and made quite a mess at the table!
Kalyn, It's definitely a childhood thing, but one of those that'll stick around :)
Hi Sheila, I'm glad the Gougères turned out great - thanks for the feedback!
[...] Delicious Days: Pancake Soup recipe for you? [...]
[...] This looks like a wild recipe - Pancake Soup from Delicious Days. [...]
i try to make the real stuff when ever possible, but when i do need to cheat a bit i only buy natural...if the ingredient list has something listed i cant pronounce or recognize, on the shelf it stays. now a days you can get some good stuff in the specialty markets and spice stores.
the soup looks absolutely tastey! the pancakes look like savory crepes...mmmmm.
Better than Boullion is a great substitute when hard pressed for time/homemade stock. Boil up some a carrot or two and an onion with the stuff and it's quite good.
[...] a Foodie Bride, Gnocchi Sardi with Asparagus and Saffron from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, Pancake Soup from Delicious: Days, Italian-American Gravy from Food “Blogga”, Cheddar and Sun-Dried [...]
We had this soup yesterday and it was very yummy! Thanks for the inspiration, it definitely will be a regular on our table.
Re when stock is called for in a recipe: For something like risotto, I use homemade stock. But for other dishes (soup, for instance), I'll use canned stock if we don't have stock in the freezer. And I often use instant stock powder instead of salt. I'm afraid that I didn't even know that there were organic stock powders available...
I gather that MSG occurs naturally in many foods (mushrooms is the one that springs to mind). Jeffery Steingarten wrote a wonderful chapter in It Must've Been Something I Ate entitled "Why Doesn't Everyone in China Have a Headache?" that is well worth reading. There is also a good section in wikipedia about monosodium glutamate.
The soup looks really good!! For it, I'd definitely use our homemade stock. I might even make stock specifically for it.... Try adding sweet potato and an apple or pear to your vegetable stock. It really rounds out the flavour. (idea from one of the "Moosewood" cookbooks.)
-Elizabeth
ejm, Thank you for the tips, will try it with my next homemade veggie stock!
[...] am fascinated by the recipe for Pancake Soup I found over at Delicious Days. It looks like so much fun to eat. I should make it next time the [...]
[...] I haven’t tried any of the recipes on either site, but Delicious Days does have a recipe for Flädlesuppe (Pancake Soup). This is something I’ve had at J’s mom’s house, which was surprisingly good (in [...]
my German friend makes and freezes the pancakes - then she can take out portions when needed.
Hmmmm, Erika hat gerade eine köstliche Flädlesuppe nach dem Rezept für uns gemacht:
S'hat sooo guut g'schmegt, wie dohoim.
Re using stock: It depends on the recipe - I tend to keep home-made fish stock and chicken stock in the freezer and I regularly make vegetable stock. If I only need a little, or it's not central to the recipe, I use Marigold vegetable boullion (the reduced salt version)