German recipes: Spaetzle ( sparrow noodles/ dumplings)

Spätzle

The name Spaetzle comes from the Swabia German and means little sparrow. This is a food that dates back to the middle ages and is first mention in script in 1725.

The East Asian noodles date back as much as 4000 years and their Europian relatives as much as 2000 years so to know exactly where these sparrow noodles were originaly found is hard to pin point.

Today, in Europe spätzle are largely considered a Swabian speciality and are generally associated with the German region of Baden- Wurttemberg. The total estimated annual commercial production of spätzle in Germany is approximately 40,000 tons. Pre-made spätzle are also available internationally from companies such as Maggi.

But the best way I believe to enjoy these is to make them fresh and enjoy the along side your meal in stead of potatoes, using them in pasta dishes replacing the pasta with spaetzle  or on its own covered in melted cheese ( add little bacon, onion and mushroons to add some flavour).

For now i will show you how to make your noodles it is up to you how you are going to endulge them.

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

- 400 grams of plain flour

- 4 eggs

- 16 grams of butter

- 2 grams of salt

- 200 ml of water

Step 1:

Add the egg and a pinch of salt to the flour.Mix with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth paste.

Add some lukewarm water and stir again until the consistency is right.

Step 2:

This is what the dough should look like when you have reached the right consistency. If you have added too much water, you can balance that out by adding a bit more flour. I tend to let the dough set for about half an hour before proceeding.

Step 3:

Bring lots of water with a pinch of salt added to a boil. Now place the Spätzle press over the saucepan and put one portion at a time into the press and press the handle down till it is the required length then cut with knife, repeat this process till all your dough has been used.

Step 4:

If you don't own a press then get a chopping board and a flat spatula, place your dough onto the board and use your spatula to cut little strands of the dough and let them drop into the boiling water.

Step 5:

Your hob should be on full power. After about 30 seconds, the Spätzle will start to surface.

When they have all surfaced, take them out trying to drain off as much of the water as possible. Make sure you have taken them all out, bring the water back to a boil and process the next batch.

Step 6:

Put them in a dish and add a knob of butter if you like, you can now enjoy them with your meal,add some home made sauce ( like Mushroom cream) or melt cheese over them and add onion and mushroom to flavour your dish  ( bacon and cheese goes a treat).

Now in Germany they would say " genießen Sie Ihre Mahlzeit " which means;

                           

                                                                                  " Enjoy your meal"

Now where in the world can we find Germany?

Share this post