Daring Cooks 27th challenge: German Spätzle
Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with! Well, Steph had me at spätzle. I love the stuff. I hadn’t made it in ages, though I had bought it a couple of times pre-made. Again, this Daring Cooks challenge was a timely reminder of how quick and easy making pasta dough can be. As a bonus, I got to use the spätzle grater I bought eons ago, that has been dutifully sitting in the bottom of one of my kitchen drawers. I added some garlic salt and cayenne to the dough. My honey gave me a hand with the “grating”, and we served it with the suggested recipe for butter and bread crumb sauce. It accompanied a simple meal of bbq sliders. An unusual combination, perhaps, the result of a “OMG, the Daring Cooks challenge is due next week!” realization on Saturday morning. 
I had the leftovers the night after, heated up in a pan, with a bit of butter. Hmmm….
German Spätzle
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
½ cup (120 ml) milk (any style of milk you what, but I believe buttermilk may be traditional. I’ve always used 1 or 2%.)
1½ cups (360 ml) (210 gm) (7½ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour (approximately – have more on hand, in case)
up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of herbs and spices (optional – I added some cayenne and herbes de provence)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (3 gm) fresh parsley, chopped (optional – I added this for color mostly)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and any herbs and spices that you want to incorporate into the spätzle.
- Incorporate the flour in small batches, by sifting in a small amount at a time and mixing until the flour is completely integrated. Keep adding flour until the dough becomes elastic, smooth and very hard to stir.
- Boil a large pot of water. Dip a table spoon into the boiling water to wet it. To form the spätzle, fill the
tablespoon about half way with dough, and release into the boiling water. - Boil for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Drain the water from the spätzle. Because it’s full of fun craters where water can hide, you will need to drain it especially well. Toss with the chopped parsley.
- Plate, and dab a bit of the sauce on each spätzle. Don’t add too much – it’s really more of a light dressing than a sauce.
Butter and Breadcrumb Sauce (for Spätzle):
Ingredients:
½ cup (120 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) fresh breadcrumbs OR ½ cup (120 gm) (60 gm) (2 oz) dry breadcrumbs (either variety can be used)
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Melt the butter… this can be done in the microwave, or on the stove.
- Mix in the breadcrumbs. If needed, gently heat further (especially if you store breadcrumbs in the fridge or freezer).
- Season to your taste
