Herbed Spätzle Recipe
By Regan Burns
Spätzle are little dumplings. They’re often served like pasta, as a side dish to accompany saucy dishes like our Apple-Sage Stuffed Pork Chops with Cider Pan Sauce. Making spätzle batter goes against every batter-making principle you’ve ever learned, as you beat the mixture until it is thick and sticky as glue.
Gameplan: If you are in need of spätzle-making pointers, check out our video on “How to Make Spätzle.“
Special equipment: You could run the spätzle batter through a colander with large holes, but if you plan on making it often enough, think about getting a spätzle maker.
This recipe was featured in our 2006 Moktoberfest! menu.
- Combine the eggs, milk, and 1/2 cup water in a large mixing bowl, and beat well with a wire whisk. Add the nutmeg and salt, and season with freshly ground black pepper. For pointers, view our video on “How to Make Spätzle.”
- Add the flour in two parts, using a whisk to mix well after each addition. Mix the batter until it is smooth and all the lumps have disappeared. Batter will be thick and gooey. Stir in the minced herbs, and set batter aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Bring a large, wide pot of salted water to a simmer. Fill a mixing bowl with cold water and set aside. Place about 1 cup of batter into a spätzle maker set over the pot, and press the batter through into the simmering water. (Alternatively, you may use a metal colander with large holes and a rubber spatula to make the spätzle.)
- Simmer the dumplings until they rise to the surface of the water, then cook them for about 1 minute more. Remove the spätzle to a bowl filled with cold water to cool them. When all the spätzle are cooked and cooled, drain them well and set aside.
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it is very hot, add about half the drained spätzle and cook until the dumplings are well browned. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and place in a serving dish. Repeat with the remaining butter and spätzle.
Beverage pairing: Crack open a Duvel, a Schneider Aventinus, or a Stone Smoked Porter.
Riesling, Riesling, and more Riesling! The rich butteriness of this dish screams for a wine with super-high acidity to cut through it and prepare your palate for the next bite. The delicate sweetness of a Riesling from, say, the Mosel region of Germany is the obvious choice. The 2004 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Kabinett is simply superb.
Using a colander or any other machine is cheating! My Swabian grandmother makes them by placing some of the dough on a wooden board, and cutting tiny slices off individually. Kind of like in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8brHIfPrnE
Mmmm...I just made this and it turned out great! Wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, though. I read all the comments and watched the video before I actually boiled them. I think letting the batter rest helped--it was a little stiffer. I don't have a spaetzle maker so I used an old fashioned colander that looks more like a wire basket and put in about a cup and a half at a time. I did not...+READ
Mmmm...I just made this and it turned out great! Wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, though. I read all the comments and watched the video before I actually boiled them. I think letting the batter rest helped--it was a little stiffer. I don't have a spaetzle maker so I used an old fashioned colander that looks more like a wire basket and put in about a cup and a half at a time. I did not have to push very much with the spatula-- it sort of dripped through on its own with a little help. Keep the water boiling at all times. The reason I made these spaetzle was that my husband did the shopping and bought a cheap rump roast which sat in the fridge for a few days. I thought of brining it and ended up making a sort of sauerbraten and all of the sauce seemed to cry out for something like this. I also made some red cabbage which I just simmered for awhile with some of the sauerbraten cooking liquid. With the combination of spices and sweet sour, it was quite the German repast. And, VERY cheap.-COLLAPSE
I grew up in Germany and spatzle is huge at our house. Our basic recipe (translated and converted from german/metric weight) is one egg to one cup of flour, pinch of salt and add water until "slimy" (direct translation). Usually thats at least 1/4 of a cup.
I have never had success with the type of spatzle maker shown above. there are other versions that look like a short flat colander with...+READ
I grew up in Germany and spatzle is huge at our house. Our basic recipe (translated and converted from german/metric weight) is one egg to one cup of flour, pinch of salt and add water until "slimy" (direct translation). Usually thats at least 1/4 of a cup.
I have never had success with the type of spatzle maker shown above. there are other versions that look like a short flat colander with large holes and a scraper that looks rather like one of those hard plastic pan scrapers. Keep everything greased up and work quickly in small batches to keep it from clogging. I usually do one stroke to smear the dough and press it through the holes, and the scrape it into a ball on the next stroke.
Also, if your spatzle is coming out too gummy I would 1) make sure you are cooking them long enough 2) work in smaller batches, using a set in pasta drainer to pull them out as you finish, so they don't layer on top of each other and 3) adjust your recipe, you may be using too much water.-COLLAPSE