I don’t really want to tell you how to live your lives, but with the weather the way it is, you should be spending your Friday nights eating goulash and spaetzle and drinking red wine and strong Belgian beer. Jo and Robbie made the goulash but my contribution was the spaetzle.
Spaetzle is the Swabian stuff you see on the right of the plate which, after a few, looks like orzo and is your best mate etc. Well worth considering as a DIY sauce-soaking carbohydrate option. As easy to make as pancakes and a happier value for time and effort than gnocchi.
It’s a simple thick batter made of:
two eggs, two cups of flour and one cup of milk.
For flavour:
a pinch of salt and pepper, a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, and a handful of fresh thyme, basil, and parsley – finely chopped.
If you’re a gadget tragic, you could get a Spaetzle Press, but I used the stainless steel washing up gear container with holes in it to get an ahhhm similar effect. Get a pot of salted water boiling and let the batter drip in and scoop it out when it comes to the surface. It was finished in a pan with some/lots of butter and served with the kilogram of beef/kilogram of onions goulash. A very happy combo.
St Bernardus Tripel [Bonus Beer Nazi finishing move here!] at 8.5% is on the sweet side but it’s solid creamy consistency offsets any possible sickliness and leaves the impression of have bitten all the way through a large block of cheddar. Shiraz is better for decanting and easier drinking resulted in guitar-based hi-jinks. Go make your own fun.
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Tags: beer
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That looks fab Anthony!
The weather here is SHOCKING! *sigh* I agree this would be perfect. I have never made the Spaetzle I will have to give them a go :) -
Mmm. :)
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Ah, Spaetzle. Now you’re getting into my territory. My hometown was originally named Marienstadt; “city of Mary”. It was founded by a group of Germans seeking religious freedoms.
And up until last year, when it was sold (and became a sportsman’s bar, bleah), one of the few places to dine was the Bavarian Restaurant, known all over the county for it’s Spaetzle!
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-Clare
Actually the spaetzle looked kind of crazy but it gave it a kind of homemadey charm. Kind of fun to make too so good luck for it.
-Stephanie
Mmmm it was.
-Stephanie
Why did they change the name? A lot of Germans settled in South Australia and gave a lot of places German names which were channged to more patriotic British names during the panic in WW1.
That’s just rotten about the restaurant, I’ve a vision of a neon Coors sign in my head. : ( -
I made Spaetzle this weekend also with a James Beard recipe using semolina. Your right – it is so easy. Don’t know why I haven’t made it sooner.
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Hi Anthony,
I’ve never eaten spaetzle before, and can’t really say that I’ve even heard of it. LOL! What’s the texture like?
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If only my german grandmother had been a good cook we could have had very similar meals. Instead, she cooked horrible things which relied upon frankfurts and cabbage. Shudder.
I shall have to give this one a go anyway… -
> I don’t really want to tell you how to live your lives
snort guffaw guffaw yes tellus another
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I’m not really sure when the change from German to English came about, but it was certainly before even the first war.
And it’s worse than just neon beer signs; the owners of the bar also have a huntin/sports-supplies store, which means it’s just a total mess. And at the same time, just like a lot of other places.
The Bavarian Inn had this gorgeous waterwheel in the lobby, murals on the walls, and the wait staff in ‘traditional’ Tyrolean uniforms. It was kitschy in some ways, but still…a good place.
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Barbara
- It’s pasta for lazy folks and not a bad thing for emptyish cupboard days.
Reid
-It’s good but my improvised spaetzle press led to some crazy shapes with varying consistency. Like pasta but with just a little more bite.
Kate
-The endless permutations of frankfurt mit cabbage just boggle the mind.
Santos
-Questioning my sincerity, I’m hurt. How about?- far be it for me to pass judgement on anyone else’s cooking.
Stephanie
- argh the interior sports bar decorative horror, what a shame. -
Is this the manly stuff you got up to on the farm, that you were telling me about?
I like the word spaetzle…
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Saffron…you would have loved a PBS program that ran a few years ago. The PA group went around and showcased different towns, and our little burg had it’s turn.
The opening featured snippets from all the upcoming segments. One of my co-workers at the station was spliced in saying “Spaetzle” “Spaetzle?” “Spaetzle!” again and again. Oh, that was funny. -
Saff
I’m back in the city but you’d be surprised to know that “making Spaetzle” is one of the 12 rites of manhood in Muntadgin.
Steph
The tzle sound is much underused in our language. Spae makes cats nervous. -
hey anthony… i do love my spaetzle, too – especially kaesspaetzle with cheese and bacon (optional). no goulash needed for that one! there’s a post on my site if you want to have a look: http://thepassionatecook.typepad.com/thepassionatecook/2004/05/kssptzle_and_ei.html
not the right food at the moment, at least not over here where we’re enjoying temperatures in the 30s (C, that is)! -
Click here for Johanna’s great post on it.
Thanks Johanna, I was thinking maybe it was really just joined up æ but I was really pleased to find they’re got an umlaut. I love umlauts. The cheese and bacon sounds hoplessly unhealthy but wonderfully delicious. I’ll have to go get some speck
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love the charming handmade quality of your spaetzle; am sure it made an even better sauce-soaking medium than regular pasta would have…
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: ) Professionals struggle to reach my levels of amateurishness. It’s a little like the slightly irregular shaped patties they have at Burger King(?) to give that non-mass produced feel.
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it takes a poetic soul to see the beauty in the ordinary and to revel in the imperfect ;)
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The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched … but are felt in the heart. Hellen Keller
She’s one who knew beauty when she saw it.
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hehe. Better Homes and Gardens served spaetzle at at a dinner part last night!
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One step ahead of H & G. Did they drink too much and play Clash songs?
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Oh yum! Me and my wife try to prepare something we’ve never had before at least once a month and I simply have to suggest this!
Matt -
The ingradients for all these receipes you will get at Online Shopping . All the best to you, on your cooking ventures.
gastroenterwritenment
manthatcooks is an irregularly updated and occasionally informative foodsite for people who have, or would like to have, moved on from say … toast.
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