Spätzle - German Noodle Dumplings
Serves: 4 - 6 as a side dish

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Seperately whisk the eggs and add eggs with water and oil to the flour. Combine well by stiring as little as possible just so the dough is smooth, thick and well mixed, using your hands if preferred!

The dough should very soft, but not runny. If you took a spoonful of dough and turned it upside down, the dough should only very slowly fall off the spoon. If you think the spaetzle dough is too soft, just use some more flour. On the other hand if you think it too hard, use some more water.

Using a spätzle maker, slide the dough filled basket over the slotted holes to drop tiny dumplings into the boiling water — this is easier to do in batches!

Simmer the spätzle for a minute or so until it floats, then use a slotted spoon to remove it. Drain and set aside to cool. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and sauté the cooked spätzle until golden.

* I also like to add a dash of Maggi to the fried spätzle just before serving — it makes them taste just like the ones my Oma used to cook.

If you don’t have a spätzle maker (or, like me, are currently not on speaking terms with yours! ;)) you can always use a colander to form your spätzle: Rest a colander over the top of the pot of boiling water, pour batches of batter into the colander and push it through the holes with the spatula. Or, you can use a potato ricer to the same effect.

My preferred way is to spread batches of dough onto a wet chopping board and using a wet spatula to scrape off thin little ‘worms’ of dough into the boiling water. After every scraping, I dunk the spatula into the boiling water to make sure it stays wet.

I have made these in advance, keeping then in a sealed container in the fridge to fry them up with butter (and Maggi) the next day!

Why not try making Käsespätzle with the leftovers?