Spaetzel

Spaetzel is a German egg pasta made by preparing a mixture of flour, eggs, milk, and salt. The mixture is somewhere between what I would call a dough and a batter.

The method for cooking might take a little finesse and definitely, the proper tools. Over a pot of rapidly boiling water, you press the batter through a spaetzel maker which is a thing with holes in it. Then you scrape the noodles off and into the water to cook for a few minutes.

The first time I did this recipe, I tried to press the batter though the holes in my steamer basket. In a mater of seconds I realized that I didn't have the right tools, and it was not going to work. To avert disaster, I ended up thickening the batter into a soft dough and making the little squiggly needles with my fingers. Let me say, not an optimum use of time, and was the texture of the noodles was not as silky as it should be.

At my favorite kitchen store here in town, Rooster Brother I was able to find the right tool which turned out to be a disk with the right sized holes that sits on a 10" pot and it even came with a plastic scraper.

One thing to know is that you have to work pretty fast to keep the batter from cooking onto the disk and clogging the holes. I learned that the hard way while trying to take photos (a third hand or an extra person in the kitchen would have mad that photo shoot go better) I also found that using a metal bench scraper works better than the plastic one,

I did this recipe in the food processor, but you can do it by hand as well.

THE RECIPE:

3-1/2 C flour

1t salt

6 beaten eggs

1C milk

1/2 stick of butter at room temperature in a large bowl

Making the batter / dough

• Pulse the flour and salt in the processor to blend

• Add the eggs and process until completely mixed

• Add milk and process until smooth

Cooking the spaetzel

Bring a pot (that can hold the spaetzel press tool) of lightly salted water Place the spaetzel press disk on top

• Scoop a good dollop of batter on the disk and while holding the the disk with one hand, use the scraper to press the patter through and into the water.

• When the spaetzel float after 3 - 4 minutes, strain them out with a slotted spoon and put them in the large bowl with the butter.

• Repeat until all the batter is gone and be sure to stir the bowl as you add noodles. (you want them butter coated so they don't stick together).

• To serve the spaetzel, you can saute them in butte with or without some caramelized diced onion and season with black pepper.

When I make this recipe, I typically only use 1/4 to 1/2 for whatever meal I'm preparing, but once they are coated with butter and cooled, they freeze beautifully in a zipper bag for use later on. When you go to use the frozen noodles, sit the zip-lock in some warm water to thaw, then it's right into the hot butter / onion to saute and serve.