A staple of Viennese and Austrian home and tavern cooking and part of the Habsburg clear-broth tradition. The word Frittaten comes from the Italian frittata (from fritto, fried), ultimately the Latin for frying — a trace of the long Habsburg-Italian connection. Before about 1800 the term meant crepe-like pancakes themselves (a recipe appears in the 1699 Graz cookbook Das Granatapfel-Kochbuch, Austria's second-oldest printed cookbook); around 1800 the meaning shifted in Austria to the sliced-pancake soup garnish. Austria pointedly uses beef broth, unlike the chicken-broth versions found in Italy; regional cousins include Swabian/Baden Flaedlesuppe and Swiss Flaedlisuppe.
Crystal-clear, deeply savory beef broth carries silky little ribbons of egg pancake that go just-tender as they soak. It tastes like a clean, golden hug — light yet meaty, with a whisper of chive freshness on top.
A long-simmered beef broth is clarified so its flavor reads pure and bright: egg white or lean ground meat is stirred into the cold broth and heated slowly so the coagulating protein rises while trapping suspended particles into a raft that is skimmed off, leaving the broth crystal-clear. The flour-egg pancakes set into flexible sheets that, rolled, cooled and sliced thin, absorb broth without dissolving. Adding the strips at the last moment and pouring the hot broth over them keeps them tender rather than mushy.
Variations
Beef broth swapped for chicken, garnish swapped to Kaspressknödel or liver dumplings, batter enriched with parsley or nutmeg
On the Palate
Where Frittatensuppe sits in the Austrian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 112 min
Whisk eggs with flour, milk, salt and chopped chives into a smooth thin batter and rest 10 minutes.
Watch outWhisk to a smooth, thin, pourable batter and let it rest — resting relaxes it so the pancakes cook tender and flexible instead of rubbery.
- 23 min
Heat a lightly oiled pan and pour in a thin layer of batter, swirling to coat.
- 310 min
Cook each crepe-thin pancake until set and lightly golden, then flip briefly and remove.
Watch outCook each pancake thin and just barely golden, keeping it supple — over-brown it and it cracks when you try to roll it.
- 45 min
Stack the cooled pancakes, roll them up tightly, and slice crosswise into thin ribbons.
- 58 min
Bring the clear beef broth to a gentle simmer and season to taste with salt.
- 62 min
Divide the pancake strips among warm soup bowls.
- 72 min
Ladle the hot broth over the strips and garnish with fresh chives.
Watch outSlice the ribbons in only at the last second and pour the hot broth over them at the table — sit them in the soup and they go soft and mushy.
- 81 min
Serve immediately while the Frittaten are still tender.
