Spaetzle goes American...are you sure ??

Bob is obsessed with spaetzle ever since we discovered it. He wants me to use it in any dish that would normally use pasta.
We did try it with pesto recently, it was OK but not great. I may need to tweak either the spaetzle or the thickness of the pesto.

Mac and cheese is one of Bob's favorite comfort foods, mine too. It seemed worthwhile to replace the mac (macaroni)  with spaetzle.
While the title of this post assumes mac and cheese is an American creation, I would have guessed it probably originated somewhere in Germany.

Nope it's French !! Here's what wiki had to say:

"Pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century's Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It is a French dish of parmesan and pasta and was brought to England in the 14th century. A cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in the famous medieval French cookbook The Forme of Cury, which was written in the 14th century.^[7] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese."

Now that I am thinking about it  I remember watching French chef extraordinaire, Jacques Pepin, make a version of mac and cheese using five different kinds of cheese, he just used whatever cheese "ends" he had around. They included a brie and some blue cheese !!

I did a similar thing in my version, using the last of a white cheddar and Parmesan, as well as a sharp orange cheddar.

 I decided to add roasted cauliflower too, it pairs well with cheesy sauce.

This recipe is similar to my gourmet mac and cheese.

Spaetzle cheese bake

Ingredients
 2-3 cups roasted cauliflower
1 recipe of spaetzle
1-2 cups grated cheese
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs


1) Preheat oven to 350 F, grease a glass baking dish. I chose to have a thinner layer of mac and cheese so I used a 9 by 13, you could also us a square dish.

2) Roast 2-3 cups cauliflower pieces for  30 to 45 minutes at 350 F.

3) Make one recipe of spaetzle, drain and set aside.

4) In a bowl mix together the Alfredo sauce, milk and grated cheese.

5) Stir in the roasted cauliflower and the spaetzle.

6) Pour into your greased baking dish, top with bread crumb.

7) Bake for 30-40 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving, because there is nothing worse than burning the roof of you month on melting cheese !!

8) Serve with a large green salad and hope for leftovers !!

Spaetzle! What ? Spaetzle, spaetzle, spaetzle !!

I just love to say the word, spaetzle. There seem to be different ways to spell and pronounce this "small dumpling cooked by running batter through a colander into boiling water". You can find it in the cuisine of Alsace where my great grandfather was born, also in German, Swiss and Hungarian cooking.

I first had spaetzle at a restaurant on Christmas day, it was served with prime rib. Both Genna and I fell in love with it. Within a few days we were trying to make our own.

While the dough is simple, we had trouble with "running the batter through a colander into boiling water". Turns out the key is to grease the colander and have a large enough pot, but I am getting ahead of myself...why do I like it, you may be asking. It's soft, quick to make and soaks up whatever you toss on it. So far that has mostly been butter, garlic and herbs. Bob wants to try it with pesto. In fact he says we should never have to buy pasta again, he says stuff like that when he likes something new.

In my second attempt to make spaetzle for Gina and Taylor, I had yet to read about greasing the colander. The results were rather comical, as I tried to squeeze the dough through the colander and not get burned by the boiling water below. At this point I discovered that there was a tool just for making spaetzle. I know, I know, single purpose tool and all, it sure makes it easy, and it was cheap, less than $10.

Basic Spaetzle


Ingredients
1 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons  butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs
1 clove minced garlic



1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

2) In another mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk the eggs and milk together.

3) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. I never really understood the whole "make a well" concept. Mine doesn't really seem to work well, haha, so don't stress about it.

4) Pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick.

5) Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

6) Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer.
7) Spray oil onto a large holed colander or spaetzle maker.
8 a) Hold your colander over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula or spoon.

A bigger pot and a greased colander would have made this first attempt easier.

8b) If you are using the spaetzle maker, fill the basket with dough and slide it across the metal grate.

9) Do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a bowl.

10) Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat with the garlic and fresh herbs.

 11) Add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes to give the noodles some color, season with salt and pepper before serving.

Now comes the fun part, what to serve it with !! Here it is with a slow cooked venison shank.

I have also used sauteed mushrooms & onions. Or this lovely deconstructed Beef Stroganoff, which used the mushrooms, onions and small strips of beef sauteed with a dollop of horseradish sour cream on top.

Fresh grated cheese would suffice, as I mentioned we plan to try it with pesto and perhaps a red sauce. Adding herbs and other ingredients to the dough seems be a natural next step. And what about pumpkin spaetzle or vegan spaetzle ?? I will keep you posted.