Käsespätzle ()
While it’s true that the kitchen aid known as a spaetzle press would make the making a breeze, you can use a boiled egg slicer and other seldom-used instruments. To pull the spaetzle feat off, it turns out you need no more than a colander with some fairly substantial-sized holes in it—something most of us have on hand.
A colander such as this will do the trick. | Photo by Karen Bradbury
For my first attempt at homemade spaetzle, I followed the recipe “How to Make Granny’s German Spaetzle” as posted on YouTube by The Stay At Home Chef. As only two of us were dining, I halved the recipe to excellent results. Watching the quick, 3-minute video in full before attempting this on my own proved extremely useful. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
2 cups flour
6 eggs
½ cup of milk
Parsley
Nutmeg
Onion
Emmental
Mix the dry ingredients and whisk the eggs separately. Add about a third of the eggs to the flour mixture and stir in a little milk. Continue with these steps until all ingredients are used up and the batter is smooth, elastic and quite a bit thicker than what you’d need for pancakes. Let it set for half an hour or so. Pour the mix into the colander, and using a spatula or the underside of a ladle, push the batter into a large pot of gently boiling, salted water. Once the dough hits the water, it won’t take more than several seconds for those little blobs to float to the service, signaling they’re done. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spaetzle from water into a hot frying pan into which butter has been melted.
To make the bonafide Käsespätzle, you’ll need to follow a few more steps, including sauteing an onion to a golden brown, adding layers of grated cheese (typically Emmental) and baking in the oven. A crumbly bacon topping would be the crowning glory of this dish. I took a short cut with my version, simply throwing a few handfuls of grated cheese in with the butter and spaetzle and allowing it to melt into a stringy mess.
I awarded the taste of my first batch ever of home-made spaetzle two thumbs up, and my dining companion rated it highly too. Freshly grated whole nutmeg gave a definite lift to the flavor. The stove looked like a hurricane had hit by the time the meal was done, but the recipe itself was simple as can be.
Photo by Karen Bradbury
No colander, and no time to run out and buy one? A metal cheese grater, potato ricer, or even a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off could also be used to achieve the spaetzle shape.
Have you ever attempted spaetzle at home?
