by Uli in Nürnberg, Germany
Ooooh yeah, look at that delicious goodness. Spätzle, or Spaetzle, are a pretty straightforward egg noodle that will often accompany meat dishes, but you can also find spaetzle accompanied by fruit and sweeter spices. Uli has to be the most generous and wonderful couchsurfing host out there, we couldn’t have asked for a better host while we were visiting Nuremberg and the surrounding area. On our last night he had a special treat in store for us, he was going to teach us how to German spaetzle! He even had a Spätzlepresse (potato ricer) and everything! Thanks again for being such a wonderful host, Uli! I don’t think we had eaten so well in weeks.
Ingredients:
- Flour – 100g per person (a fine flour is best)
- Eggs – 1 per person
- Milk/water (personal preference)
- Toppings (optional) – cheese, mushrooms, bacon, you name it!
Measure out your flour. Uli used “Spätzlemehl” which was a very fine flour, but he mentioned that he has used regular flour before as well. Using a mixer, add eggs while mixing. Slowly add milk/water until the dough comes together and is firm but not sticky. It may still look lumpy but that’s fine.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil (you can add bouillon to the water as well if you would like) and make your sauce if desired. For our creation pictured above, we used speck (a salty, cured meat), mushrooms and a mix of cheeses to make a sauce.
Once your water is boiling, you’re ready to start making spaetzle. Using a spaetzlepresse, or potato ricer, press about 1/4 of the dough at a time over the water, not letting the dough touch the water until they fall in. Use a knife to cut the noodles if they don’t fall in on their own. Once the noodles float (about 10 seconds, it’s fast) scoop them out with a sieve into a baking dish. Immediately mix in a bit of cheese (if desired) while it’s still hot. Repeat until all the dough is used and noodles are cooked.
Heat oven to a low temperature. Spread sauce over the noodles and top with more cheese. Put in the oven and bake just long enough to heat and melt everything (about 10 min). Enjoy with beer and good company!
