Spatzle That Tastes Darn Good
In case you haven’t been following along on my Instagram account (shame on you!), I’ve been doing this little thing called, “What Was That?” on my Instagram Stories. It’s a weekly series where I break down a cooking method, recipe, ingredient, etc, from the previous week’s episode of Top Chef. Fun, right? Yeah, tune in, you’ll love it! Essentially, I’m trying to make YOU a Top Chef in YOUR kitchen! Last week’s episode was all about German food. So this week, I dedicated my Stories to the beloved German dumpling, spatzle!
Spatzle, Please!
I bet you’ve had spatzle before, but never really thought about making it at home. Am I right? The thing about spatzle is that it’s super simple to make and you likely have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. That’s what’s so glorious about it. More like little tiny, irregularly shaped dumplings than perfectly formed pasta, spatzle is a simple food that’s simply delicious. And yes, you can put a little umlaut over that “a.” And you should, because it would be correct and it’s cute.
Yes, You Can!
While making fresh pasta can be a rather time-consuming and intimidating process, making spatzle is the exact opposite. Not only can you NOT screw it up (you’d have to try pretty hard), but you’ll have fun making it. There’s nothing stressful about weirdly shaped dough nuggets. See? Fun! So, no more excuses! It’s time to channel your inner “oma” and get to making that spatzle!
Spatzle That Tastes Darn Good
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Think you can’t make your own pasta? Then you haven’t made spatzle! Learn how easy it is to make this classic German pasta/dumpling!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and nutmeg. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Dough should resemble pancake batter.
- Set a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add salt (like you would with any other pasta). Set a spatzle maker or perforated pan/cheese grater over the boiling water and add dough. Press the dough through the holes using a spatula, directly into boiling water. Once spatzle rises to the top, remove with a slotted spoon or strainer to a sheet pan. Repeat the process until all the dough is cooked.
- If you’d like to cook spatzle further, now’s the time! Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and let melt and brown a little in the pan. Add the spatzle and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and toss with fresh herbs of your choice!
I can’t say I ever really knew what spatzle was (never stopped to think about it, ahaha)–this is way less complicated than I would’ve imagined though! 😀 What a great way to change things up! :]
My grandmother is from Germany and we have spaetzle on every major holiday or family get together. On everyone’s 18th birthday they get a spaetzle maker as a gift and we all have them and they get so much use.
Great recipe!
Love spaetzle but haven’t had it in years! Pinning this to make – would be a fun project for my toddler too!
OK. I can totally do this. I’ve always thought spatzle was so difficult. Thanks for the primer. Now the spatzle maker in my drawer will finally get it’s day in the spotlight.