Spätzle
Spätzle are basically little dough dumplings. This is a luxury version. I learned them as Christmas Spätzle, left to dry overnight in the fridge, fried up in butter (or bacon fat), then fried up with onions (and even cheese!).
Servings: 0
Equipment
- Spätzle maker
Ingredients
Batter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp koshering salt to taste
- 1 tsp white pepper to taste, freshly ground if possible
Optional Flavorings
- 1 cup cheese melting cheese, like Gruyère or Gouda
- ½ cup bacon cut into bits and fried
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.Gradually stir in enough flour to make a batter thin enough to be scraped through the holes in your spätzle maker but thick enough to break under its own weight below the holes. You will probably not need all 3 cups
- Using a spätzle maker set over a pot of boiling, salted water, press spaetzle batter through holes directly into the water.When spätzle are cooked through, they will float to the surface, about 5 minutes.Scoop them up with a slotted spoon and drain well as they cook or drain all at once.
- Spread the spätzle on fine baking racks and let them dry.
- Str in any to all of the following: thin-sliced onion, optionally caramelized, fried bacon bits, and a grated melting cheese like Gruyère or Gouda.Sprinkle some more cheese on top and finish under the broiler.
Notes
There are many ways to make spätzle. I find the best is a real spätzle maker. I have a cheap plastic one I found in Europe. Amazon carries many. I'd forego all the imitations and go with the Küchenprofi one.
A supposed alternative is using a colander, but I find the holes in most too small, so you end up with a thinner batter and smaller spätzle, if you can make it work at all.
You can also use a holed or slotted spoon and drip streamers into the water, fish them out, and cut them into shorter bits.
You can also keep the batter thicker, put it on a thin cutting board, and cut sideways across it, a thin strip at a time, and push it into the water, then fish it out, and cut it into shorter bits.