Spätzle
Spätzle
This is a German dish, sort of a mix between a soft egg noodle and a dumpling, but not quite either one, cooked in simmering water or stock then fried. Commonly served with a meaty stew or gravy. I made this on 9 Mar 2018 and it is not only easy, it is exactly how how I remembered this from a German restaurant in Phuket, and it is excellent. Commonly written as spätzle, spatzle, and spaetzle. This is easily made by one person with a spätzle maker AND NOT a grater, that can result in a mess.
Equipment
- spätzle maker (spätzlehobel)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 4 eggs, chicken or duck
- ½ cup milk
- butter, for frying
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- This is a typical spätzle maker, on the end opposite the handle is two tabs, these keep the maker attached to your cooking pot. The hopper slides back and forth on the flat part on the pot.
- Here it is on my cooking pot. The tabs hold the flat plate on the pot so one hand can work the hopper and the other hand to pour the batter into the hopper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk to combine.
- Beat the eggs. Add half the eggs and half of the milk to the flour mixture and mix, then add the remaining eggs and milk, and mix until smooth. The batter is thin, this is a perfect consistency.
- Fill a medium sized pot half full with water or even chicken stock, Heat to simmering.
- Pour the batter into a 2 cup or large measuring cup, when the water is simmering, simply attach the spätzle maker to the pot, use one hand to slide the hopper back and forth and the other hand to simply pour the batter into the hopper.
- Let the spätzle cook until it floats to the top of the water, it is fast, use a large slotted spoon to remove and place them in ice water to cool them and then place in a colander to drain. Repeat with remaining dough. At this point, you can use the spätzle in soups if desired in place of egg noodles.
- Once all the dough is cooked in the water, heat a large non stick skillet 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter, add the spätzle and fry, turning often, until starting to crisp up.
- Serve as a side with a meaty dish. I cooked some stew beef in my pressure cooker and simply added that to a sauce pan of beef gravy, easy and perfect meal.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Fry in bacon fat and 5-6 slices of chopped bacon. 2. Fry some onion and garlic until soft and the onion is softened, add the spätzle and mix in, then add 1-2 cups Swiss cheese, there, you just made Käsespätzle, the German version of mac and cheese.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
- Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles II, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Hungarian Gulyás.
My experience wasn’t as positive as Lee’s. I don’t have a spaetzle maker so I used the grater option mentioned in the recipe. What a mess I made dripping batter everywhere. All over the stove and sides of the pot of simmering chicken stock. And what I ended up with was basically a nutmeg flavored cooked pasta or egg noodle. It was good with a beef gravy but not worth the time, effort and trouble cleaning up IMHO.
Thank you for the honest comment! I was really wary of the grater option, I will change the writing to strongly suggest the use of a spaetzle maker. And I do agree, the flavor is comparable to egg noodles, and is great with a beef gravy dish.
I made this on 9 Mar 2018 and it is perfect! Made exactly as written. Easy and delicious. My wife said I can certainly make this anytime! I served this with beef and gravy. Highly recommended.