Das Spaetzle

Reading the paper this morning, I saw an article on a local restaurant serving Pan Roasted Halibut with Dijon Spaetzle; I pretty much started drooling right off the bat… I was drinking coffee, hadn’t had breakfast, and didn’t have any Halibut, but I sure do have the basics for Spaetzle: There was no recipe in the article, but being a savory breakfast guy, I knew I could figure that one out and do it up, so I did, and here it is.

Spaetzle means "little sparrow," in German, which I guess is a take on the shape or size or… I dunno, anyway, I love it and hadn’t made or had it in years. Spaetzle is basically a little noodle that is most commonly served as a side, like spuds, but you can do all kinds of things to it, since its basic dough just begging for inspiration. They go great as a bed for something wonderful, (Like the article noted), or as a side; only limit is your imagination and larder.

My version came out great, so I’ll lay it on ya here. I think Spaetzle screams for cheese, personally; most of the German cheeses are white and lean toward the Swiss than cheddar, etc. I made some Queso Blanco last night, and decided to try that with these guys; they paired up wonderfully! ( I re-posted the queso recipe below as well.)
Note on the chives; I used 'em because we grow 'em and I love 'em, but you could use anything that pairs well with mustard; Rosemary, Shallot...

Dijon Spaetzle

4 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk
2 cups all purpose flour, (Not self-rising!)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chives, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Salt a pot of water until it tastes salty, (Kinda sea waterish) and bring to a boil.

Combine eggs, milk, mustard and chives and beat well. Add flour slowly but surely until you end up with a sticky batter, (More toward the pancake side than the dough side).

Spoon about half the batter into a sieve or colander with roughly ¼” holes. Take that to your pot of boiling water, take a spatula or pastry knife and gently scrape the batter through the holes.

Allow Spaetzle to boil for about 2 minutes, until it’s just al dente; remove from the water onto a clean plate.

Melt your butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Toss in your Spaetzle and stir constantly so they butter thoroughly coats the noodles, and you just start to get a bit of golden brown in them.

Transfer Spaetzle to a serving plate, add salt and pepper and garnish with fresh parsley.



Queso Blanco:

One gallon whole milk
1/2 cup lime juice
Salt to taste

Heat the milk in a non-aluminum pot on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until it looks like it’s just about to boil (DON’T let it boil!); temperature should be 185 degrees.

Add lime juice. The curds will separate from the whey and the mixture will look grainy, kind of like you’ve just thrown a bunch of corn meal into a pot of skim milk. Simmer for a few minutes.

Pour contents into a cheesecloth-lined colander and let it drain thoroughly: To save the whey to make ricotta, put the colander over a pot.

Sprinkle the curds with salt; go saltier than you normally would; the salt will drain from the cheese as it dries. Now is the time to add any herbs, spices or chopped chiles if you like.

Gather the curds in the center of the cheesecloth and tie the ends; hang the cloth on the faucet to drain for a few hours, (At least four hours, overnight is better.

Refrigerated, it keeps about the same as fresh milk.