German Spätzle Grain Bowl with Herb Butter

About This Recipe

Spätzle are small, irregular egg noodles native to southern Germany, especially Swabia, made by scraping a wet dough through a special press or off a cutting board directly into boiling water. Unlike pasta made from a firm dough, spätzle batter is loose and eggy, which gives the noodles their characteristic soft, slightly chewy bite once boiled. Here the cooked spätzle get tossed in a butter melted with fresh herbs, parsley, chives and a little thyme, until each noodle is glossy and fragrant, then piled into a bowl the way a grain bowl is typically composed, though spätzle themselves aren't a grain but an egg noodle. Letting the butter foam slightly before adding the noodles develops a faint nutty flavor that plain melted butter doesn't have. This is comfort food in its simplest form, best eaten immediately while the butter is still glossy and the noodles are hot.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 cupsall-purpose flour
• 4eggs
• 1 cupmilk
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspgrated nutmeg
• 6 tbspunsalted butter
• 3 tbspparsley(chopped)
• 2 tbspchives(chopped)
• 1 tspfresh thyme leaves
• 0.5 cupgrated parmesan or gruyere(optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the batter

   Whisk flour, eggs, milk, salt and nutmeg into a thick, sticky, pourable batter. Let rest 10 minutes.

2. 2

   Boil water

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

3. 3

   Form the spätzle

   Push the batter through a spätzle press or scrape small pieces off a wet cutting board directly into the boiling water. Cook until they float, about 2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon.

4. 4

   Brown the butter

   In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat until it foams and smells nutty, about 3 minutes.

5. 5

   Toss and serve

   Add cooked spätzle to the butter along with parsley, chives and thyme, tossing to coat. Serve hot, topped with grated cheese if using.

Variations

• •

  Add sauteed mushrooms to the butter for Pilzspätzle, a common German mushroom variation.

• •

  Top with crispy fried onions for a heartier, more traditional presentation.

• •

  Make Käsespätzle by layering the noodles with grated cheese and caramelized onions under a broiler until melted.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked spätzle up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat in a buttered skillet over medium heat, tossing until warmed through; avoid the microwave, which makes them rubbery.

Frequently Asked Questions