Spaetzle (Germany)
Taking a skip across Europe, today’s recipe on World of Pasta comes from the land of sausages, beer, lederhosen and the occasional chicken dance, Germany.
From this great land, we get a variety of culinary delicacies such as big, soft pretzels, sauerkraut, and of course there is spaetzle. Taking it’s name from little clumps, spaetzle is a type of soft dough that is passed through a press over simmering water to create tiny little beads, it is basically Germany’s version of pasta.
Spaetzle are very easy to make and are a perfect thing to serve alongside a roast, with sausages, with schnitzel, or to serve under saucy dishes like beef stroganoff to offer a starchy vessel to pick up said sauce.
And unlike fresh pasta dough where you have to let it rest for about 20 minutes before rolling it out, with spaetzle you can press and cook it as soon as your batter is made! So it’s a lot quicker to make than fresh pasta as well.
There are many ways to serve spaetzle once cooked, but I’m sticking with a classic. I’m going to fry the spaetzle a bit to get a crispy outside then finish with butter and parsley.
Serves 4
2 cups all purpose flour
A large pinch of salt
Freshly gated nutmeg, to taste
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk, plus more if needed
Olive oil, for frying
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Heat a medium saucepan of water to a simmer. Combine the flour, salt and nutmeg in a medium sized bowl. Add the eggs, beat until smooth, then add the milk and whisk until a thick batter forms, adding more milk if needed. You’re aiming for a custard thickness.
(If you have a spaetzle press, great, but if not then the large holes of a box grater or even a handheld cheese grater will do the job. I do suggest doing that with the sharp side facing down.)
Scoop out mounds of dough and press that through your spaetzle maker until small beads or clumps fall through the holes and into the water. Once the spaetzle float to the top of the water, you can go ahead and drain.
(You could serve the spaetzle now, but I like going a step further.)
Heat a thin layer of oil in a wide nonstick frying pan until the oil starts shimmering. Add the cooked spaetzle, and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the spaetzle is lightly browned. Add the butter, and toss until the butter is melted and coats the spaetzle. Stir in the parsley, then it’s ready to serve.
