Flaki: Polish Tripe Soup
Flaki (flaczki) is a traditional Polish soup made from beef tripe. The soup has a long history and is considered one of the national Polish soups.
Preparing flaki requires time and care. The beef tripe is thoroughly cleaned, rinsed several times, and cut into smaller pieces. Then it is cooked in a broth together with root vegetables (carrot, celery, parsley root), onion, and sometimes lovage until tender. The broth is then strained and seasoned with salt, pepper, marjoram, and optionally, red paprika. The amount of red paprika and vegetables in the soup is the biggest difference between Czech and Polish tripe soups. The Polish version has significantly less paprika (sometimes none at all) and significantly more vegetables (carrots). Unlike the Czechs, Poles also use pork tripe or even venison tripe in their tripe soup.
Tripe is a controversial ingredient for some, but I love it (I still remember how disappointed I was when the Czech restaurant U Kalendů didn’t have stewed tripe, and I had to order something else 😢). I always enjoy flaki whenever I visit Poland. The soup in the photos is from the bistro Katarzynka in Polish Torun. One portion cost 15 PLN (3.60 EUR) and was absolutely perfect.
Bon appetit!
