Käsespätzle (Cheese Spaetzle)

Perhaps the most typical traditional dish of all traditional Schwäbisch foods (see Fleischküchle , Potato Salad, Schupfnudeln). Spätzle is a type of noodle made from flour, egg and water. It is served in a variety of ways, plain, with gravy, and our personal favorite, with cheese. He grew up with Käsespätzle which is good for her because that means he knows how to make it, and make it well! One of the foods that won her over when she first came to Germany, the traditional Schwäbisch foods are one of the main reasons why she came back to this area of Germany when she had the choice.

Try making Käsespätzle... just do it. It doesn't take many ingredients, it doesn't take much time, and even without the proper Käsespätzle maker it is easily possible. Super tasty and a comfort food, it is like the mac and cheese for the fancy (or if you are not in the USA, for the Germans).

Ingredients:
200 g Flour
125 ml Water (luke warm)
2 Eggs
1 Onion, chopped
1 Cup cheese (any type works, we used Gouda)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs butter

Our Spätzle Press

To make Spätzle you will need a Spätzle press or something with the proper holes. The traditional Spätzle press comes with three metal discs, each with different sized holes. The press makes food Spätzle noodles but it something frustrating to work (you need both hands to work it which makes pouring the batter in hard). There is now a new Spätzle maker on the market which looks like a water bottle and lets you mix the batter inside and then just flip over and squeeze. We have only tried this type of maker once and it worked great.

If you do not have a proper Spätzle maker do not fear! A colander also works.

Before mixing the ingredients, boil a pot of water on the stove and preheat your oven to 350.

Combine the flour, water, salt and eggs. Beat well. Before you start making the Spätzle, make sure that you have a bowl or plate to but them as soon as you pull them out of the water. You do not want to leave them in while you search for the proper equipment.

Then scoop about one cup of the batter into whichever type of maker your are using.

Press the batter out

Let the batter come out as long strings into the water and cook for a very short amount of time.


 
You know when the Spätzle is done when it comes to the top of the water. When the Spätzle is finished, scoop it from the water into the bowl or plate you have waiting.

Just in

Finished

 Before or while cooking the Spätzle cut up one onion and grate cheese.


Cook the onions on the stove over medium heat with butter, until they are nice and brown.



Once all of the batter has been used, drain any collected water on the bottom of your bowl, mix the Spätzle with the onions and cheese in the pan on the stove and heat until the cheese is melted.





Place the entire mixture into an oven-safe dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is hot through.

Cheese Spaetzle (Käsespätzle)

Serve as a side dish or as the main course. This is only one version of Spätzle (and our favorite). It is also very common to serve the Spätzle plain (with no cheese on onions) and  with something like Schnitzel which comes with gravy to mix with the Spätzle.