Swabian Pasta - Spaetzle (Spätzle)

Spätzle

This is a very typical swabian comfort food - fresh homemade egg pasta. 
In 'swabianland', the variations are wide.  It is served as side dish to roasts as well as a main dish, eaten with a hearty sauce which is almost a staple to children. The Swabians being 'Wet Eaters', the spätzle is sometimes fried crispy and then dunked with a sauce or simply with melted butter.  Not forgetting KässSpätzle which is with melted cheese, Leberspätzle which is with fine grounded liver and the very down to earth Linzen (lentils) spätzle.  

Spätzle is culture !             

Although it is easier to buy readymades, there is something special about making it from scratch at home.   They are easy, fun to prepare (sometimes messy) and satisfying.  





Although I have a Spätzle press which I doubled as potato ricer, I still prefer to use a slotted wooden chopping board and a dough scrapper.   Even a chopping board and the back of a long knife will do as well.

 
Receipe  :

500gm Spätzle flour or bread flour
5-6 eggs
1 heap tsp salt
a pinch of nutmeg (optional)

(A Swab will swear that not a drop of water should be added into the dough.  Should the dough be too dry, add more eggs.  The consistency should be thick and sticky)

1.  Put all ingredients into a large bowl and beat till you get a sticky elastic dough.

2.  In a large pot, boil 5 litres water.  Soon as it starts to boil, turn down the temperature to a simmering medium.  

Now the fun starts.........



Moisten the wooden board and scrapper.

Place 2 tablespoon of dough on the board for a start.  You may add more later once you are satisfied with the texture of the initial few 'test' strands.  If the texture is too soft, add more flour.  If too chewy or hard, add 1 more egg but pleeeeease, not a single drop of water.

  

 Dip scrapper into the water to moisten.

Gently smoothen the dough and spread it thin near the edge of board.

Now pull back gently and then push down about 1/2 cm of dough and push it off the edge, into the simmering water.  The thinner you spread dough, the finer will be spaetzle.


After 2 or 3 scrappings, dip the scrapper into the water again to prevent the dough from sticking.

 

The spaetzle is done when they float to the top.  Do not overcrowd the spaetzle.  Soon as the surface of simmering water is covered with spaetzle, use a slotted spoon, scoop the spaetzle onto a bowl and NOW you may add a few drops of oil to coat the spaetzle so they do not stick together.
Start the next batch of dough from the beginning until all the dough is used up.

By the way, spaetzle freezes well. 

General rule of thumb.....1 egg to 100gm of flour.  Which also means, 100gm of flour or 1 egg to 1 person.