Homemade Spaetzle with Brown Butter, Parsley and Parmesan (vegetarian)

Spaetzle is a fresh, light egg noodle that requires no rolling, no fancy equipment and just thirty minutes in the kitchen. It is primarily known as a traditional German dish but is also found in traditional forms in other parts of Europe.  

Spaetzle can be accompanied by a myriad of different ingredients from the traditional, like frankfurters and beans, to more modern takes with fresh herbs and vegetables.  I decided to go a more modern route and chose fresh parsley, onions, garlic, browned butter and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

I took the spaetzle recipe from the Joy of Cooking, which gives a recipe for the noodle only, a building block for a great meal.  I love this dish because its simple and can be made from stock pantry items.  If you have flour, eggs, baking soda, and butter you can have an elegant meal without running to the store for special ingredients.  Also to create the special shape of the spaetzle you need only a regular household colander.  There are specialty spaezle makers out there but they aren't necessary to make great spaezle. 

Note that when reading through the method section that I boil the spaetzle dough in two batches.  I do this because its good not to crowd the dough in the water.  If you do the dough can clump together. I also don't have a large cast iron pan, so two batches also makes browning the spaetzle easier.  In the second batch its not necessary to brown butter again or sauté garlic and onion.  Add just enough butter to sauté the second batch of spaetzle noodles.  You can mix the two batches together so that you end up with one pan fully integrated with all the of the ingredients.  The following recipe serves two. 


The Basics:
1. Mix spaetzle dough.
2. Push spaetzle dough through a colander into boiling water.
3. Allow dough to float to the top, remove from water.
4. Sauté spaetzle in brown butter, onions, garlic, and spices.
5. Mix with parsley and serve.


Recipe:
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. water
2 eggs
4 tbs. butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1 small minced yellow onion
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. chopped parsley 
1/4 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper


Method:
1. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. Add water and eggs and mix until well combined.
3. Let the dough sit while you add 3 tbs. of  the butter to the cast iron or sauté pan on medium heat until lightly browned.
4. Add minced garlic and onion, paprika, salt and pepper to the pan. Allow this to cook on low heat until onions are tender while you are completing the following steps.
4. Place the dough into a colander.
5. Over a large pot of boiling water press the dough through the holes at the bottom of the colander with a spatula.

6. Once about half of the dough is pressed through the colander, allow the pieces of spaetzle dough to rise to the top of the boiling pot.

7. Using a slotted spoon lift out the spaetzle and add to the pan of butter, garlic, and onions.

8. Once all the spaetzle has been lifted out of the pot allow the water to return to a boil.
9. Press the remaining dough through the colander into the boiling water.
10. Remove lightly browned spaetzle from the pan onto a plate.

11. Add the remaining butter to the pan.
12. Once the spaetzle dough has risen to the top of the pot use the slotted spoon to lift out the spaetzle and add to the pan of butter.
13. Allow the spaetzle to brown and return the first plate of spaetzle to the pan.
14. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
15. Mix well and remove from heat to serve with Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!