Schwäbische Spätzle

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Wooden spoon
• •Spätzle board and scraper, or a Spätzle press
• •Wide pot
• •Spider or slotted spoon
• •Wide frying pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   Put the flour, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl, make a hollow, and add the eggs and most of the water or milk. Beat from the centre outward with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. Hold back a little liquid at first, because flour drinks differently from bag to bag, and Spätzle dough must be adjusted by feel, not by pride.

2. 2

   Beat until elastic

   Beat the dough hard for 5 to 7 minutes, lifting and slapping it against the bowl until it turns glossy, stretches in thick ribbons, and shows bubbles. This beating builds just enough gluten to let the dough hold together when scraped into water; skip it and the noodles break dull and pasty.

   If the dough sits in heavy lumps, beat in a spoon of water. If it runs like pancake batter, work in a spoon of flour. You want it loose enough to scrape, strong enough to cling.
3. 3

   Rest and boil

   Let the dough rest 10 minutes while you bring a wide pot of salted water to a bare simmer, then lower it so the surface trembles. The rest lets the flour finish hydrating, and the gentle water sets the noodles before movement tears them apart. A hard boil is for potatoes, not this.

4. 4

   Scrape the Spätzle

   Wet a Spätzle board or small cutting board, spread a thin strip of dough near the edge, and scrape narrow ribbons into the trembling water with a wet bench scraper or knife. Work in small batches so the water stays hot and the noodles have room; crowd the pot and they glue themselves together, which is not regional character.

5. 5

   Lift when floating

   When the Spätzle rise and look set, give them another 30 seconds, then lift them with a spider into a bowl or colander. Floating tells you the dough has firmed through; leaving them much longer only washes out flavour and roughens the surface that should catch butter or sauce.

6. 6

   Butter and serve

   Warm the butter with the oil or clarified butter in a wide pan, then toss in the drained Spätzle until glossy and lightly touched with gold at a few edges. The oil keeps the butter from burning while the butter gives the flavour. Taste for salt at the end, scatter chives if you're using them, and serve straight away. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Scraping from a board gives the long uneven Swabian shape. A press is allowed for a weeknight, but the dough must be a touch firmer or it drips instead of cutting cleanly.
• •Use fresh eggs and ordinary plain flour. Fancy flour won't rescue a badly beaten dough, and good beating will make a plain bag of flour behave.
• •For Käsespätzle, layer the hot drained noodles with grated mountain cheese and browned onions. That is its own supper, especially in the Allgäu, and it needs a sharp salad beside it.
• •If serving with roast gravy, keep the Spätzle plain in butter. The sauce has work to do, and the noodle is there to catch it.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rest up to 30 minutes at room temperature, covered. Longer than that and it tightens, so loosen it with a spoon of water before scraping.
• •Cooked Spätzle keep 2 days in the refrigerator. Rinse briefly in cold water after boiling, drain well, oil lightly, and reheat in butter in a wide pan.
• •For Sunday service, boil them earlier in the day and finish them in butter just before the roast goes to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)