Monday, August 30, 2010

Recipe for German Spaetzle (Spätzle)


Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour
200 ml water
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix eggs, water, and salt thoroughly.
2. Gradually add flour, adding extra water if necessary to achieve a dough that is thick and gooey but not stiff, and not too thick to pass through the spaetzle maker, or so runny that it flows through it without needing to be "grated". Basically, a little thicker than pancake batter. I have had to add as much as double the amount of water.
3. Bring water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add dough to spaetzle maker and "grate" into boiling water in batches. Boil each batch for a couple of minutes, until spaetzle have risen to the top and slightly grown in size. Do not overcook, or your spaetzle will be mushy (test one for doneness, if necessary).
4. Scoop spaetzle out with a colander and allow to further drain in a colander set over a bowl while making the next batch.
5. When all spaetzle are done cooking, add butter and salt to taste. Serve as a side dish, or fried up in a pan with more butter (add onion, sausage, and/or sauerkraut if you like), or bake in a casserole dish covered in cheese until golden and bubbly.

Tips:
- Do not leave the spaetzle maker sitting on top of the pot while you are waiting for your batch of spaetzels to boil. The rising steam will cook the dough left on the spaetzle maker and gunk it up, making it harder and harder to work the next batch.
- If you do not have a spaetzle maker, and want to see if you like homemade spaetzle before investing in one, you can try this: Place/hold a large, flat cheese grater (NOT the boxy kind) horizontally over the boiling water. Put about a half cup of dough on the top side of the grater. Using a metal spoon, scrape the dough back and forth across the grater until all the dough has been "grated" into the water. This is much more tedious and time-consuming than using the spaetzle maker, but it certainly works.
- Soak or rinse any dishes that have dough on them immediately in warm water. The dough hardens as it dries, and is about as easy as concrete to get off once that happens.

Enjoy! :)

3 comments:

  1. I've never heard of this stuff. It looks like breakfast cereal...like homemade Corn Pops! I'd love to try it, but first, what does it taste like? Can you make any comparisons in American food?

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  2. It in my experience it's similar buttered noodles. (Then again when my mom makes it she adds butter to the pan they sit in when they are done and keeps it in the oven to keep warm). I think buttering the pan helps keep them from sticking to it. She uses REAL unsalted butter too.

    I've never been to Germany, but my Grandmother is German. My Grandfather was in the Army and met my Grandmother while he was station in Germany. My mom has always been a US citizen, but she spent most of her childhood in Germany where she was born. Being born on the army based, daughter of US soldier is what made my my a US citizen.

    Anyway, even though I've never been to Germany I've grown up with German food! Thanks to my Grandmother and Mother. Any time my mom or grandmother make Spaetzle they makes it with Rouladen and a sour cream gravy! YUM!!!!

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  3. My Grandfather moved here from Budapest when he was a small boy. This recipe is very similar to one that my Nana used for the dumplings/noodles in chicken paprikash. It has been years since I've enjoyed the dish. I am going to have to give it a try. Never be as good as Nana's was but you inspire me to try some of the old hungarian recipes that i've so missed since my granparents are no longer with us. Hungarian goulash will amaze my friends who believe goulash is made with ground meat and elbow macaroni! Thanks for the inspiration! :)

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