As a fledgling restaurant cook, I learned how to make spaetzle, the delicious little German dumplings, from an accomplished Austrian chef. He could practically make a batch of spaetzle with his eyes closed, standing next to the stove and rapidly cutting fine strips of batter from a board directly into a pot of simmering water, in the Old World manner.
Spaetzle, sometimes called batter noodles, are actually fairly easy to make at home, though it takes a bit of practice. Once you get the hang of the process, they are wonderful to have in your repertoire.
First, combine the few ingredients for the thick batter (flour, water and egg) as if making pasta, but keep the mixture much wetter, with a more porridge-like consistency. After letting it rest, use the edge of a soup spoon to flick little half-moons of batter into the pot. This is the method I find easiest, producing medium-size spaetzle with a pleasant, chewy quality. (But for that matter, the old-fashioned knife method is fun when you master it.)
Many home cooks use a special spaetzle-making tool, available at cookware shops or online, that forces squiggles of batter into the pot. With the spaetzle tool, though, the batter must be looser still, almost pourable, and you get smaller, delicate spaetzle. Pushing the batter through the holes of a colander gives similar results.
Spaetzle are routinely made hours (or days) in advance and reheated, which makes them ideal for a quick supper or side dish. Sometimes they are tossed with softened onions and cheese and baked, for a bubbling casserole. Easier, and perhaps even tastier, is to brown them lightly in butter with a little ham or bacon. Cooking them and eating them straightaway is, of course, a fine option.
I recently made green spaetzle, incorporating spinach purée, for a party with chef Joel Hough of the Il Buco restaurants in New York. Neither of us had made them in quite a while, but happily we had not lost the knack. Evidently, it’s a bit like riding a bicycle; one doesn’t forget how. In no time, we were simmering little green slivers of batter in salted water, then sautéing them with butter and sage.
They tasted just as we remembered them: tender, buttery and satisfying, showered with grated Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
Spinach Spaetzle with Bacon and Sage
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
5 ounces baby spinach leaves or equivalent quantity of larger leaves
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
Salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bacon or pancetta, cut crosswise into thin lardons
4 tablespoons butter
12 fresh sage leaves
Grated Parmesan
Preparation
1. Drop spinach leaves into boiling water to blanch, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain spinach and squeeze dry. Put cooked spinach in a blender or food processor with the eggs and yolks and blitz briefly to make a green purée. (Alternatively, finely chop the spinach and stir together with beaten eggs and yolks.)
2. Put spinach in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and the pepper. Beat in flour and 3/4 cup cold water to make a wet, sticky batterlike dough. Beat for 5 minutes, until lump free. If the mixture seems too stiff, beat in a few more tablespoons of cold water. (If using a spaetzle tool, thin the batter to a more runny consistency.) Leave batter to rest at room temperature, covered, for 15 minutes.
3. Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a large wide pot of well-salted water to a boil. Stand close to the pot with the bowl of dough in one hand and a soup spoon in the other. With the edge of the spoon, grab thin slivers of dough approximately 1 inch long, dropping them one by one into the boiling water. (Cook a dozen or so at a time.) Let the spaetzle cook for 1 minute or so, until they rise to the surface. Remove with a skimmer and immediately cool in ice water. Continue until all batter is used. Drain cooked spaetzle and blot dry. (The recipe may be prepared up to this point several hours before serving.)
4. Just before serving, set a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and let it render without browning much, about 2 minutes. Pour off fat and leave bacon in pan. Add butter and let it foam, then add sage leaves and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Add cooked spaetzle and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon until heated through and lightly browned. Transfer to a warm serving bowl. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.
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