SPÄTZLE

You can make delicious homemade spätlze in less than thirty minutes. Even better, the recipe is simple and doesn’t require any expensive machinery. I grew up eating these German noodles along side dishes with rich brown gravy like rouladen and sauerbraten. Another traditional use is to mix spätzle with cheese to make käsespätlze, the German equivalent of macaroni and cheese. But it’s use doesn’t need to be limited to traditional German fare. Instead, you can use spätzle as a substitute in most dishes that call for egg noodles. Because spätzle reheat well, I often make them in advance and warm them in the oven or sautéed in a pan with butter.

My friend’s Grandmother would use the most traditional method to make her spätzle. After making the dough, she would place it onto a board and then slice pieces off into boiling water. This is a time intensive and laborious process and instead I use an authentic German spätzle press. Most of you aren’t going to have an authentic spätzle press at home but that’s OK because a potato ricer produces similar results. The only difference between the two is diameter of the holes, with the potato ricer producing a thinner noodle. Another type of spätzle maker that looks like a cheese grater makes shorter thicker spatzle that I don’t prefer.

So I challenge you to try something new and make some authentic spätzle. If it takes you longer than thirty minutes, let me know and I’ll change my post!

SPÄTZLE

Course: Side Dish / Cusine: German

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 cups flour
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt. Add in the flour and stir until well combined. If it is too runny, then add a little more flour. If it is too thick, then add a little more milk.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place your spaetzle maker over the top, then pour half of the batter into the cup of the device. Quickly slide the cup back and forth to allow the batter to drop through. Repeat with second half of batter, working quickly, until all the batter is cooking in the pot.
3. Set the spaetzle maker aside and give the dumplings a good stir in the pot. Let them cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until floating on the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Toss with butter and spices. Serve warm.