Spaetzle, the German Dumpling

Yes we cook something German.....no not just German, we do it of course in Switzerland too and it can as well be found in Austria, but the name Spaetzle is from Germany, southern Germany.

The big difference between the German and the Swiss variety is mainly the shape. Everything else is the same. The main ingredients are Flour, Eggs, Milk, Nutmeg and a bit Salt and Pepper. OK, the batter of the German variety is slightly thinner as it has to be "scratched of a board into the boiling Salt Water whereas the Swiss version is a little thicker and more round. That is why we call it in Switzerland "Chnoepfli".

How to pronounce that funny word? Very simple, the Ch stands for clearing your throat, yes you heard right, the ch sounds like you are clearing your throat, the oe or ö is a bit pronounced like the u in burp..... so let me not go further into the pronunciation of this funny dumpling.....which actually mean "little button" in good old English because it is round like a button

The preparation is actually very simple, just mix all ingredients quickly together, don't add all the milk from the beginning as you don't want the batter too thin and then you have to beat it. Yes you heard right again, you have to beat the batter till your arms are sore and the batter has big bubbles. Sounds strange I know but you will see what I mean when you do it......if your arms are not too sore before the bubbles come.

It looks like this is quite a violent blog, burping, clearing throats, beating batter....but trust me it is all worth it. The Dumplings are delicious and you can make them in all sorts of variations. The recipe I give you today is actually one with Rocket in it. It gives a lovely flavor and looks really sexy.

So here is the Recipe

Recipe
500 g (1.1 lbs) Flour
40 g (2 oz) Butter
4 Each Eggs
200 ml (0.2 qrt) Milk
1 Punnet or 125 g (5 oz) Rocket fresh
5 g Salt
2 g Nutmeg

Method
Blend the eggs with the Rocket till the Rocket is nice and fine
Sieve the flour
Mix all ingredients except the butter with the flour
Beat the dough with your hand until the dough has blisters
The dough must be smooth and slightly runny
Scrape the batter off a cutting board in boiling salt water
As soon the the dumplings come to the top, skim them off and put in iced water
Strain the water off
Heat the butter till slightly noisette, add the Spaetzle
Fry without color and season to taste

Goes perfectly well with Goulash

 One can add Rocket, Spinach, Wild Mushroom flour or Tomato Paste to flavor the Spätzle

This recipe makes enough for 10 friends