Käse Spätzle
Käse Spätzle is a dish I learned to love when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. It’s a Schwabian specialty and, though it sounds a lot like macaroni and cheese, it’s heaps better. I became addicted and Frank and I would often go to our local kneipe (pub) for a plate (and a glass of delicious German beer). Making our own was just a little bit daunting for no obvious reason so we talked about it every once in a while but never actually did it.
In my ongoing quest to find good recipes that will use up some of my chicken’s eggs I decided it was high time to put our trepidation aside and just go for it. We cobbled together a recipe based on a combination of recipes we found in books, online and from instinct. Here’s our Käse Spätzle Recipe.
1) Make the spätzle dough by mixing together:
– 2 eggs
– 1/2 cup milk
– 1 cup flour
– salt & pepper to taste
The resulting dough will be more stringy and less runny than pancake mix but much thinner than bread dough.
2) In batches (don’t add too much to the water in one go) press dough through a sieve (we used a steamer pot) or something similar over boiling, salted water.
3) Boil until mini-dumplings float (just a couple of minutes).
4) Scoop the cooked spätzle into a bowl of cool water to stop them overcooking. (At this point you could pause making this a good dish for company since you can make the noodles early in the day then bake them with the cheese when the time is right.)
5) Layer a greased baking dish with spätzle and grated cheese (we used a mix of parmesan, tasty and swiss). Be generous with the cheese.
6) Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes.
7) While baking, fry some onions and shredded bacon.
8) Serve your käse spätzle topped with onions and bacon.
This is a very simple (if slightly messy) dish to make and it’s as versatile as your imagination. I’ve had spätzle with any number of seasonal veggies baked in. And I’ve never had a bad spätzle – my homemade version included.
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 