Spätzle - Käsespätzle / Bavarian "Mac & Cheese"

Directions

Käsespätzle

1. Prepare Spätzle per directions
2. Preheat oven to 325.
3. Rub casserole/baking dish with butter.
4. Layering: Add 1 1/2 cups of cooked Spätzle as a layer to casserole/baking dish. Add several pat sized pieces of butter. Top with 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Note: If you are using onions, caramelize them and add some with each layer. If you are using cubed ham or other cooked & cubed meats or vegetables, add them to each layer.
5. Repeat layering until casserole/baking dish is almost full.
6. Finish with a final layer of cheese and butter. Note: if you are using bread crumbs, add them here and use aluminum foil to cover for first half of bake to avoid burning the bread crumbs.
7. Bake in 325 degree oven until cheese is melted and top is brown. Add parsley in the last 10 mins. Note: if you want a lighter colored top, use aluminum foil to cover for first half of bake.

Spätzle

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 Tsp salt and oil. Should be like preparing any pasta water.
2. In mixing bowl, add flour and 1 Tbsp salt and stir to combine. Add beaten egg to create a loose mixture.
3. While stirring, slowly add in water until you have a stiff but smooth batter (almost like a dry waffle batter). The batter should pull freely from the sides of the mixing bowl and maintain a slight form, but not be solid. Getting proper Spätzle dough is a bit of an art.
4. Making your Spätzle comes in a few ways. Option 1: You can add your dough to a Spätzle machine and rock it back and forth over the boiling water. The Spätzle will drop out of the bottom of the machine. Option 2: you can use a potato ricer and form longish strands, that will break when hitting the water. Option 3: you can use a Spätzle board, here "smear" the dough onto the board and then cut it off in strips along the bottom that fall into the boiling water, they will look like small, rough-formed egg noodles.
5. Cook 6-8 minutes. These small noodles cook really fast. Be sure not to over cook them.
6. Drain and serve hot with any type of garnish. Check out our Käsespätzle recipe for one suggestion. Or just come up with your own.

From the Dahoam1516 recipe collection · Hans Diehl