Recipe Kasespaetzle

medtran49

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Spaetzle
2 eggs
2 Tbsp freshly rendered lard or 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or melted cooled butter or rendered bacon/speck fat
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 cup milk
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp baking powder
pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Cheese sauce
3/4 cup speck or thick-sliced bacon, cubed in 1/4 inch or so dice. (optional)
1 large onion, 1/4 inch dice
2 Tbsp (or more, see directions) butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk, warmed slightly
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
2 cups grated cheese, Emmenthaler or Gruyere or combo
Salt and pepper to taste


Cook the speck or bacon in a medium-sized skillet until the fat renders and the meat crisps. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate or bowl and reserve. Add the chopped onions and cook over medium heat about 20-25 minutes. You want them to brown and caramelize. You will then need about 1/4 cup fat left in the pan so add butter if necessary. If there is more than 1/4 cup rendered fat, remove excess and use in the spaetzle batter. Add 1/4 cup flour and stir to make a light colored roux. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly so you don't get lumps and let cook until it thickens. Add the nutmeg and some salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium low and add in the grated cheese. Stir until melted. Taste and adjust seasonings. Keep warm over very low heat.

For spaetzle, using a mixer or a blender, mix eggs, lard/oil/butter/rendered fat, water and milk together. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder, plus optional nutmeg. Add liquid to the bowl and stir until well mixed. This will be a pretty thick batter, almost a dough.

Using a spaetzle maker of some kind (I use the sliding box press) and working in batches, cook the spatzle in lots of boiling salted water until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon to a colander.

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Place spaetzle in an 8 inch square baking dish, sprinkle cooked speck/bacon over top evenly, add the cheese sauce and mix well. Place in a preheated 375 oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly and a little brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes and serve.

We usually serve this with a salad for a lighter meal (notice I didn't write light) or German red cabbage (Rotkohl) for a heavier/heartier meal.
 
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You guys have been eating a hell of a lot of pasta in the last week or so! How are you achieving this rate of output (and input)? :giggle:

This looks great @medtran49. After a long hunt I've just found the butter pat I ordered. I think I ordered it to make spaetlze. Its a grooved butter pat. Would that work?
 
Actually, that's an old picture, as is the lobster ravioli (which was a couple of weeks ago). The challenge just forced me to write recipes as I usually just sort of wing both of them. I started my multi-layer, multi-meat, multi-cheese lasagna today, which I also usually wing, but it's a bit more complicated and involved than the 2 mentioned above, so I actually had to make it to get amounts.

Unfortunately, no, the butter pat is for gnocchi. What you need for spaetzle is one of the following:

A colander with large round holes (1/4 inch or so) and a very large spoon or scraper that will fit in the bottom of the colander to press the batter/dough through the holes into gently boiling water.

A box spaetzle press, which is what we have.

A lid spaetzle maker, which I've been told works well.

Or, if you have a ricer that is adjustable and has large holes (like 1/4 inch), you can use that.
 
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The challenge just forced me to write recipes as I usually just sort of wing both of them.

Oh, well that is good then!

Unfortunately, no, the butter pat is for gnocchi. What you need for spaetzle is one of the following:

OK - my confusion. I don't really have anything suitable - off to look on Amazon! Thanks.
 
That was quick! I ordered this one - a mere £6.66 ($8.60) - it arrives Wednesday which might be too late for the challenge...

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Some people want to climb Mount Everest. I prefer to climb this. A key piece of equipment? A spoon.

I made mine almost exactly like yours, with three exceptions:

1. I like the idea of the baking powder puffing up the spaetzle, so I doubled the quantity, to 1/2 teaspoon.

2. I used rendered bacon fat, which I figured would be salty enough, so I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt in the batter. This was a good call. I really can’t imagine making this again without using bacon fat. It was sublime.

3. I didn’t have a spaetzle maker, and I didn’t feel like buying one, so I used this:

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You’ll be forgiven for thinking that this is a ricer with a flat edged wooden spoon.

I’ll be honest: this was not easy. About 3/4 of the way through, I wanted to just throw the rest of the batter away. I didn’t for two reasons:

1. I was getting a great upper body workout.

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2. I tasted some. Oh wow, is that good.

Yeah, it worked:

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I ended up setting up an operation similar to what I do when I make gnocchi. I had an ice bath with a colander in it, and I put the finished spaetzle so wouldn’t get soggy.

So, phase 1 is complete. Phase 2? Hamburg stroganoff. Thank you for helping me to get halfway there.
 
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@The Late Night Gourmet They look great. They are so good aren't they? I've always loved noodles but these are way better for some reason. My favorite besides this is with some browned butter that has had some big pieces of fresh sage in it to just flavor a bit as the butter melts and browns, then removed with some fresh chiffonaded sage put in and just cooked for a few minutes. I could just sit and eat a whole plateful of that.

@morning glory What happened? It is supposed to be pretty thick. I call it a dotter (dough/batter). The recipe has never failed me.
 
They look great @The Late Night Gourmet. I had a failed attempt with the new spaetzle maker. I think I made the dough/batter too stiff. I'll have to try again.
I’m sure you made it exactly the way it’s supposed to be. It was a bit of a struggle getting the batter through the holes, but it did eventually come through. Of course, my tools weren’t exactly conventional. But, I did make Spaetzle once in a cooking class, and I remember this being the case.
 
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And now....Hamburg Stroganoff, served on a bed of spaetzle.

This was so much better than it had any right to be, and much better than it looks. I made my own chicken bratwurst, and made the stroganoff with sauerkraut, Düsseldorf mustard (with an equal amount of sour cream), onions, mushrooms, and Beck’s Pilsner. Recipe to follow, because I’m definitely making this again.

@Shermie: I most certainly am not having fun at your expense in making this: on the contrary, I’m glad you left those two letters off the name of the hamburger stroganoff you made. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to make this. Thank you!
 
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