Polish Tripe Soup {Flaki}
Tripe is a soup that is made around the world. The spices and ingredients used will depend on the region the soup is made in. This recipe shows how to make flaki [flah-kee] in a traditional Polish way. In my home, it was always made with beef, root vegetables and typical Polish herbs, like marjoram. I like my flaki (or sometimes called flaczki) spicy, with a lot of vegetables. Broth needs to be well salted and flavorful.
I’ve been eating tripe soup since I was a kid. It was never made to be a big deal, I guess. It was just another delicious dish to enjoy. It wasn’t made super often either, so the occasional “treat” was kind of nice. Tripe is a mild soup, believe it or not. A lot of the flavor comes from veggies and spices, and tripe plays a supporting role only. The combination of all, though, does have a very one-of-a-kind flavor profile. I hope you try it.
Polish Tripe Soup {Flaki}
Ingredients
- 1 lb / 500 g of tripe
- 1 lb / 500 g of beef on a bone (ribs or tail)
- 1/2 tbs of salt
- 2 carrots
- 1 parsnip
- 1/4 of a celery root
- 3-4 bay leaves
- 6 each of peppercorn and allspice (whole)
- 1/2 of a small onion burnt on a dry drying pan
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp of paprika
- 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
- 1 tbs of dried marjoram
- 2 tbs of butter
- 2 tbs of flour
- More salt and freshly ground pepper or pepper flakes
Instructions
Wash tripe with cold water. Place in a pot and cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Repeat this 3 times. Make sure the meat is clean and free of any impurities. If it still gives off STRONG smell, repeat one more time. In the mean time peel carrots, parsnip, celery root and garlic. Peel onion and burn straight on a gas burner or a dry frying pan.
After you've decided tripe is ready, place it and beef in the same pot. Add 6 cups / 1 1/2 liters of water, salt, peeled carrots, parsnip, celery root, garlic and burnt onion. Also add bay leaves, peppercorns and allspice. Bring to boil, turn to low and simmer for 20 min, until vegetables are soft. Remove vegetables and continue boiling (covered) for another 2 hours.
In the mean time grate vegetables on the largest vegetable grater, set aside, they will go back into broth once done.
After 2 hours of cooking, taste a piece of tripe, if it's still not soft, continue boiling for another 30 min - 1 hour.
When done, remove beef bones and debone any meat that may have cooked on the bone and return meat to broth.
Lastly, in a small sautéing pan make roux by melting butter and combining with flour. Add about 1/2 cup of broth to roux and whisk to combine. Add to soup and bring to boil to thicken. Add grated vegetables, ginger, paprika, nutmeg and marjoram. Boil for another 10 minutes. Taste. Here, I added another 1 tbs of salt, 1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkle of pepper flakes. Soup should be salty and a bit spicy. Add more, if needed but do it gradually. It does need quite a bit of salt though.
Best if soup sits overnight. To serve reheat and serve very hot, with crusty bread.
Happy cooking and smacznego!
Anna
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Amazing! Fell in love with this soup when in Krakow and am delighted to have stumbled across your recipe. Thanks
Hope you make it soon!!😊
I was making this tonight, trying to make it from memory, and it was coming up bland. Found your recipe and now it tastes right. I didn’t rinse my tripe, but it looked pretty clean. It also didn’t have too strong of a smell so it should be ok. Tastes pretty good, can’t wait to eat it tomorrow.
Awesome! I’m glad it came out the way you were hoping it would 😊! Smacznego!
Made it and absolutely loved it ! I didn’t use all of the herbs in the recipe but it turned out amazing regardless. Niesamowity !
Yes! Spreading the joy of flaki❤️😊