andrejthechef
SloveniaSoupDinner

Goveja juha z domačimi rezanci

The Slovenian Sunday beef soup: a clear, long-simmered broth with fine homemade egg noodles and sliced carrots, served as the first course of every family lunch.

prep
45 min
cook
3 h 30 min
total
4 h 15 min
serves
6
level
medium
Clear Slovenian beef soup with fine homemade egg noodles and sliced carrots

Goveja juha is the first course of a traditional Slovenian Sunday lunch: a clear beef broth made from shank, beef bones and root vegetables, simmered gently for hours and never boiled, so it stays crystal clear.

Thin homemade egg noodles, rezanci, are cooked separately and added to each bowl with the sliced carrots. Cooking them in the broth would cloud it.

Goveja juha z domačimi rezanci is one of the twenty most famous Slovenian foods.

method

  1. Put the beef and marrow bones in a large pot, cover with the cold water, and bring slowly to a gentle simmer. Skim the foam as it rises for the first 20 minutes.

  2. Add the charred onion, one carrot, parsnip, celeriac, leek, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Keep at a bare simmer, never a boil, for 3 to 3.5 hours.

  3. Meanwhile, make the noodles: mix the flour, eggs and a pinch of salt into a firm dough, knead 5 minutes, rest 30 minutes. Roll very thin, dry for 20 minutes, roll up loosely and slice into fine ribbons about 2mm wide.

  4. Strain the broth through a fine sieve. Slice the cooked beef and the remaining carrots, and cook the other two carrots in the broth until tender, then slice them.

  5. Cook the noodles separately in salted boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.

  6. Divide the noodles, carrot slices and some beef among bowls, ladle the hot broth over, and scatter with parsley.

chef's tips

  • Start with cold water and keep it below a boil; that is the secret to a clear soup.
  • Cook the noodles separately so the broth stays clear and the noodles do not swell.
  • The broth freezes perfectly and is the base for many other Slovenian soups.