… or “Kasspatzn” in southern german slang. I posted an article on them before, boasting around that I would make them myself. Today was the day and we finally made some. These are gorgeous, delicious little bastards and they’re surprisingly easy to make! An easy, yummy and filling crowd-pleaser.

TL;DR: I’ll never buy the pre-made ones from the supermarket again!

Here’s what you need (for about 4 persons):

500g “Spätzlemehl” (special flour for Spätzle, alternatively finely sieved flour type 405)
5 Eggs
250 ml cold sparkling mineral water
1 tsp. salt

Clarified Butter
7-8 Shallots, cut into rings
250 g hearty cheese, such as Appenzeller, Gruyère or Mountain cheese
1/2 cup Chives, chopped

Here’s what you do:

Mix the dough with flour, eggs, salt and mineral water. You should end up with a sticky, glue-like substance. Let that sit for 10 – 15 minutes.

In that time, grate the cheese and chop up your shallots. Heat a pan with a tbsp. of clarified butter on medium-high heat and cook the onions until they’re golden brown and caramelized a little. Set them aside.

Bring a large pot with amply salted water to a rolling boil. Traditionally, Spätzle are hand-scraped from a wooden board, but for the hobby cook there are several tools available for a small buck that make the process much easier. So: In batches, shave some Spätzle into the boiling water and wait until they rise to the surface. Give them another minute or so to cook through and take them out with a slotted spoon. Put them into a bowl of cold water to prevent them from sticking together.

In a pan on medium high heat, melt an ample amount of clarified butter and put in a third of your fresh Spätzle. Let them heat up a little and add a third of your shallots, add a third of the grated cheese and a small scoop of the Spätzle-cooking-water. Let all combine until it’s creamy and the cheese pulls threads. Redo with the rest of the ingredients.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with chopped up chives.