Spaetzle from Scratch

Everyone has had spaetzle as a side dish at a German restaurant, but it always seemed to me that it was something that I could not make at home (which if funny considering my very German family). I had purchased boxed of dried spaetzle at the grocery store, but they weren't as good and they were pretty expensive.

So a few years ago I started asking my mother and grandmother how I could make spaetzle at home. They told me about my great aunt and memories of her making spaetzle from scratch. After doing a little more research online (and ordering one of these) I found a quick and easy way to make spaetzle at home.

Here is what you have to do:

First you will need to make the dough. Mix 1 cup of flour, a pinch of salt and some pepper in a large bowl.

Then add in 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of milk and mix together everything with a fork.

When the dough comes together add a dash of nutmeg to the top of the mixture. Combine thoroughly and let the dough sit in your fridge for about an hour.

At this point, you need to extrude the dough that you have made into hot water so it can cook. You can use anything that has lots of little holes in it, like a colander or ricer. I decided to purchase a spaetzle maker because I love kitchen gadgets. But if you are short on space or don't want to invest the money, the colander or ricer would do just fine. This is what my spaetzle looks like, see how it sits right on the pot......love it....did I mention that I love kitchen gadgets.....

This part is simple; using a spatula, push the dough through into the boiling water.

Once all of the dough has been pushed through to the water, let the spaetlze boil for 3-4 minutes, until they are all floating.

Drain the pasta and melt some butter into the same pot.

Put the spaetzle back into pot and cook with the butter until the noodles are golden brown. Add in any herbs that compliment the rest of the meal. Here I added in parsley and basil.

Recap of the Recipe:
1 cup flour
pinch of salt and pepper
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
dash of nutmeg
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp parsley or basil (or a combination)