Flaki

The Polish tripe soup of beef tripe simmered with root vegetables in a clear broth, seasoned with marjoram, nutmeg, and sweet paprika

Origin: Kraków & Lesser Poland

From the journey of Marjoram.

Polish cooks call marjoram, majeranek, the most Polish of herbs, and flaki is the dish that proves it. It is beef tripe, cleaned and cooked for hours until tender, cut into fine strips, and simmered in a clear beef broth with carrot, parsley root, and celeriac; the seasoning is marjoram above all, with nutmeg, ground ginger, sweet paprika, and pepper. Flaki without marjoram is not merely weaker; Polish cooks would say it is not flaki. It is an old dish, eaten in Poland for centuries, and it keeps its place today as the soup of weddings, of the morning after weddings, and of cold days in the market. The version most often met is flaki po warszawsku, Warsaw style, sometimes with small meatballs added, and it is served with bread and a little extra marjoram at the table for those who want it. Tripe is sold ready cleaned and part-cooked in Polish shops, which spares the cook most of the work.

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 kg beef tripe, cleaned and pre-cooked, cut into thin strips
  • 1.5 l beef broth
  • 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 parsley root or parsnip, cut into matchsticks
  • 100 g celeriac, cut into matchsticks
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 allspice berries

Seasoning

  • 2 tbsp dried marjoram, rubbed fine
  • 0.5 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 0.5 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
  • 20 g butter
  • 1 tbsp plain flour

Method

  1. Simmer the tripe in the broth with the bay leaves and allspice for 45 minutes, until completely tender.
  2. Add the carrots, parsley root, and celeriac and simmer for 20 minutes more.
  3. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook for a minute, and whisk in a ladle of the hot broth. Stir this back into the pot to thicken it lightly.
  4. Season with the marjoram, nutmeg, ginger, paprika, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Serve very hot with bread, with more marjoram on the table.

Notes

Flaki is better on the second day, when the seasoning has settled. Polish cooks rub the dried marjoram between their palms over the pot to release its scent.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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