While staying in France with my cousin, she gave and showed me how to make, her mother-in-law's recipe for Spätzle. I’ve tried to make it before from a recipe on the internet which resulted in utter failure. After being shown what to do and some secret tips, I can make it a bit better now. I must admit it's still not perfect, especially, how it looks, however, it tastes awesome! I just cooked it for the family, and my niece went for thirds!!!
I'm still working to get the consistency right and I shall be updating this post once I have it down. I thought I should get this blog post up so you can give it a go too and tell me your thoughts. How would you improve it? Feel free to comment below.
I've put the full recipe below, however, you can half it for a smaller group. The recipe below will feed 7 to 8 very hungry people.
You may need to get a Spätzle press or a potato ricer, that has holes at the bottom which you can press the mixture through. This is the one I have by OXO:
Note: You don't have to use a press. Some drizzle the batter into the water with a spoon. Though that would take a bit of time to get through the whole batter.
Ingredients
1 kg plain flour
4 level tspn salt
8 eggs
600 to 900ml of water (best to use 50/50 sparkling to still water if available) *this range is by feel to get the right consistency (work in progress)
2 Tblspn oil
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Allow to stand at least an hour. For best results, 4 to 5 hours. Batter should be very thick, like pancake mixture after left standing. Before it would be a bit runnier and less elastic.
 |
| Batter before 5 hours of resting |
 |
| Batter after 5 hours of resting - much more elastic-y |
2. In a large pot, fill to three quarters full of water. Bring to just before simmering. When bubbles start floating to the top.
3. Using the Spätzle press, push through mixture into water and stir slightly. (Or use a spoon as previously mentioned.) Allow to cook for about 5 minutes. The noodles will float to the top. Remove from water, drain, run under cold water (like pasta), the put on a clean tea towel to absorb water.
4. Repeat for remaining batter.
5. Just before serving, fry in a bit of butter til golden. Serve with some hearty stew of choice. Goulash or stroganoff would be my stew of choice.
