Pennsylvania Dutch: Nanny’s Pepper Pot Soup
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Soup
- 1 pound lean ground beef*
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
- 8 cups beef or vegetable stock
- 3 white potatoes, diced
- *alternately, you can make this with leftover roast beef, my mom’s favourite
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough: Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the flour mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms. 2. Flour your work surface very well. (I cover my work surface with waxed paper or parchment paper, then sprinkle the whole thing with flour). Dust your hands well with flour, scrape the dough onto your prepared work surface and knead the dough a bit, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. 3. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a roughly ⅛-inch-thick rectangle. Use a pizza cutter dipped in flour to cut the dough into ½-inch squares. Let the dough rest while you make the soup. 4. To make the soup: In a large pot over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain the rendered beef fat from the pot, then add the celery, carrots, marjoram and stock. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until they are just tender, about 5 minutes. 5. Quickly add all the prepared dough squares to the boiling soup and stir. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid! After 10 minutes, uncover the pot and cut into the dough with a knife to check for doneness. Cook a bit longer if needed.
