We love spaetzle which is like a drop noodle. Many cultures around Europe have these dumpling-style noodles. In Hungarian, these egg noodle dumplings are known as “Nokedli” whereas in Romania they’re called “Galuska”. Spaetzle is German and “Halushky” in Ukrainian. They have slight variations between cultures – some of these drop noodles are thinner and more uniform and some more irregular and thicker. Any which way you form the noodles, they’re delicious and taste great as a main meal or as a side!
If you are not familiar with these drop noodles, they are pillowy with a bit of chew to them. They are different that dried or regular pasta and is why they’re more similar to a dumpling than pasta. It’s simple to prepare and can be cooked as a noodle would be, or tossed directly into soup. Mix the batter, drop them into the pot of boiling water, and once floating, remove them and pan fry these morsels. A simple old fashioned and humble dish.
Spaetzle has a neutral flavor and is more like a dumpling or gnocchi (except without the potato) than pasta and is easy to prepare. It reminds me of drop noodles often prepared by pioneers, using flour, eggs and either water or milk. It pairs well with a variety of meals and you can serve this much like you would a pasta.
To start, combine eggs and milk and whisk together. Then add flour and salt and pepper. Stir. The dough will be very sticky – almost gluey. Time to cook!
You can purchase spaetzle makers, but we do it by hand using spoons, and I’ve done so for over 20 years. Usually, we scrape the dough off a large spoon with another spoon, but this time my daughter decided to put it in a piping bag, dip the kitchen scissors in the hot water in the pot so the dough doesn’t stick and cut it from the piping bag. It worked great! We got smaller pieces so the dough went a lot further! Spaetzle cooks much like drop noodles or perogies — they go into the water, and once cooked, they’ll float to the top. Remove them with a strainer or slotted spoon and pour them into a pan with melted butter.
I cook until browned, but you can also just toss around in melted butter and chives if you like and serve right away. I like them a bit crispy.
Here is how we do it by spoon. We simply put some dough on the spoon, make sure the other spoon is wet (we dip it in the hot water in the pot so it doesn’t stick) and scrape little bits of dough off with another spoon. Once floating, remove the spaetzle with a slotted spoon, dump into a pan with butter and continue until it’s all cooked.
When you drop smaller pieces of dough in thinner shredded, you’ll get smaller strands which look like what is pictured here. We often make them larger because it is much faster.
We often like spaetzle serve with homemade spaghetti sauce or roast beef.
We also serve it with sausage calzone filling.
Or we enjoy spaetzle with old fashioned meals like fried cabbage and veggies or with Pork, Cabbage & Roasted Potatoes. It’s delicious any way!
Spaetzle or Drop Noodles
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups plain flour
Sprinkle salt and pepper
Smaller batch:
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1-1/4 cups flour
Sprinkle salt and pepper
Whisk eggs and milk together. Add seasonings and stir. Add flour and stir. Dough will be very sticky and gluey. Drop from spoons into small thin shreds into a pot of boiling, salted water. Or use a piping bag or spaetzle maker. Once they float, remove with a strainer or slotted spoon and dump into a pan of melted butter. Continue cooking until dough is gone. Fry until browned or just stir until spaetzle is coated in butter. Sprinkle with chives if you like. Serve alongside your favorite meal.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours