So this is now my second dish for Germany after having cooked a dessert from by Boyfriend’s home town, Hannover, about 6 months ago. After I cooked it a very good friend of mine made me promise that when the time came, I would cook something else for Germany, and so here goes!
When I ask Kevin what his favourite German dish is, the reply I usually get is that he can’t think of any traditional German dishes that he would normally eat at home, and that a lot of what we would traditionally consider to be “German” actually comes mainly from Bavaria. As it turns out cuisine in Germany is like in most other countries, composed of many different regional or local cuisines. But you can be sure to find a lot of stews, dumplings, breads, sausages, potatoes, noodles or pastas. When I asked my friend for recommendations, she suggested Käsespätzle, Germknödel, German potato salad, or Semmelknödel.
I know that Germknödel is a favourite of hers and so you can expect to see it on this blog sometime soon I’m sure, because I’ve heard a lot about it (usually mouth-watering descriptions). However, as I went through photos and recipes the Käsespätzel really jumped out at me – the thought of melted cheese and noodles with caramelised onion was just too much to pass up!
Before I jump into the recipe though there’s a couple of things you should know. The first thing is that this dish gets most of its flavour from the cheese you use – so buy good quality cheese – it will make all the difference. The second is that Spätzle is not difficult to make and is actually a great Sunday mid-morning activity to do with your partner or even the kids. However, if you don’t own a little gadget to make it you might need to get a little creative like I did. So before you get stuck in – just have a little look in your kitchen for what you might be able to use to make it.
So how do you make Spätzle? The basic premise is that you make a wet dough with flour, eggs, nutmeg, milk and salt. The dough is as wet as cake batter but stretchy like bread dough – and you basically have to push it through small holes straight into a saucepan of boiling water. They take about 20-30seconds to cook and are ready as soon as they float. You then scoop them out, rinse them and can then either use them straight away or can refrigerate or freeze for later. So there are two types of gadgets that Germans use to make Spätzle, the first is a bit like a potato ricer or orange/lemon squeezer and the second is a bit like a flat cheese grater with a little box that holds the dough (see the photo below - you can buy from amazon here - although if you really don't need to). I obviously had neither of those, so I used the underside of a normal cheese grater and a spatula which worked quite well. You could also use the side or a colander or pasta strainer. The third thing is serve this at the table and onto warm plates – this dish is really not as good once it gets cold – although it does reheat very well in the oven!
The other thing about this recipe is that I recommend that you keep a clean bench as you cook and tidy up as you go along – overall (cleaning including) this recipe took me 30 minutes to make with my partner – so it’s relatively easy if you’re organised despite all my preamble! It is also the BEST comfort food.
The recipe I used is a combination of 3 other recipes as the egg-flour-milk ratios were all a little different. I tried to reach a compromise between all three and I was very happy with the result! Also there is a bit of a disagreement on whether the dish should be baked or not, I decided not to and didn’t regret it. The recipes can be found here:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Spätzle
2 cups of flour
1 ½ tsp salt
3 medium eggs
¾ cup of milk
Grated nutmeg to taste
Käsespätzle
2 large onions diced or chopped
3 cups of grated cheese (50% Emmental, 50% Gruyere works wonders)
Sprinkling of parsley or chives
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
Method
Chop the parsley or chives and set aside.
Add the oil to a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and begin to cook until they start to caramelise (10m). Add the sugar and once they are caramelised and wonderfully golden remove from the heat and set aside in a bowl. (Don’t put the frying pan in a sink – you will use it later).
Half fill a large saucepan with water, add a dash of salt and bring to a boil.
While it comes to a boil add all your Spätzle ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a paddle attachment and once mixed change to a dough hook. Mix for 16-20 minutes until the dough is elastic and starts to pull away from the sides. (One of the recipes I looked at mixed everything with a wooden spoon – and only mixed until just incorporated so you could try this as well if you don’t have a stand mixer).
Now comes the fun part.
Set a large bowl or colander next to your saucepan.
Take a spoonful of dough and start to push it through your grater or colander, allow the droplets of dough to fall straight into the hot water. As soon as they start to float remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in the bowl or colander next to your saucepan. Repeat with the rest of the dough. (This bit works a lot easier if you have to people and one of you pushes dough while the other scoops them out!). See photo below
Once all the dough is done rinse the Spätzle and drain.
Take the frying pan from earlier and put it over medium heat. Add the Spätzle to the frying pan followed immediately by a handful of cheese. Mix it an gradually add the rest of the cheese.
Once the cheese is melted sprinkle your caramelised onions over followed by the parsley.
Serve at the table and onto warmed plates if possible!
Enjoy your delicious food coma!
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