Spaetzlemania!
anarckid and I have been fairly obsessed with spaetzle ever since our trip to Virginia. This was further fueled by an episode of Lidia's Italy we saw on PBS this Sunday; Lidia prepared whole wheat spaetzle, and served it with beer-braised beef and gravy. This prompted me to find myself a recipe.
Whole Wheat Spaetzle with Pecorino
3 cups (15 oz.) white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, minced, divided
2 Tbsp. butter (or more to taste - more would be better!)
1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
Combine flour, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together eggs and milk; pour into dry ingredients, along with half of the minced parsley. Mix vigorously until a smooth batter forms. You may need to dribble in a little extra milk to adjust the thickness; it should be slightly thinner than brownie batter. Set aside and let batter rest for an hour, to soften the bran.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Hold a large-holed flat grater directly over the boiling water. Using a silicone spatula, press the batter through the holes of the grater, letting the strands fall into the pot. (At this point I should mention that doing this with a spatula wasn't working so well for me, so I recruited anarckid who decided it would be much easier to just use his hand. I would not suggest this, however, if your grater is very sharp...) You'll have to work in batches, because the spaetzle cook very quickly. The noodles will rise to the surface almost immediately; give them a stir, and let them cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. The spaetzle should be toothsome, but tender. (They will not be uniform in size or shape, but this is part of their charm! Don't worry, either, if they appear to clump together at first; they will separate as they cook.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked spaetzle to a colander to drain. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add spaetzle and toss to coat in the butter. Let fry for a few minutes, even letting the noodles brown a bit. Add the pecorino and a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, and mix well. Add more of the pasta cooking water as needed to achieve the desired amount of sauciness. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining parsley. Eat ASAP!
Here's a picture of the spaetzle on their own, so you can see the nifty little guys:
We smothered it in mushroom gravy, and MAN was it tasty.
Everyone make spaetzle! Fun to say, and even more fun to eat! :o)
Whole Wheat Spaetzle with Pecorino
3 cups (15 oz.) white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, minced, divided
2 Tbsp. butter (or more to taste - more would be better!)
1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
Combine flour, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together eggs and milk; pour into dry ingredients, along with half of the minced parsley. Mix vigorously until a smooth batter forms. You may need to dribble in a little extra milk to adjust the thickness; it should be slightly thinner than brownie batter. Set aside and let batter rest for an hour, to soften the bran.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Hold a large-holed flat grater directly over the boiling water. Using a silicone spatula, press the batter through the holes of the grater, letting the strands fall into the pot. (At this point I should mention that doing this with a spatula wasn't working so well for me, so I recruited anarckid who decided it would be much easier to just use his hand. I would not suggest this, however, if your grater is very sharp...) You'll have to work in batches, because the spaetzle cook very quickly. The noodles will rise to the surface almost immediately; give them a stir, and let them cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. The spaetzle should be toothsome, but tender. (They will not be uniform in size or shape, but this is part of their charm! Don't worry, either, if they appear to clump together at first; they will separate as they cook.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked spaetzle to a colander to drain. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add spaetzle and toss to coat in the butter. Let fry for a few minutes, even letting the noodles brown a bit. Add the pecorino and a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, and mix well. Add more of the pasta cooking water as needed to achieve the desired amount of sauciness. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining parsley. Eat ASAP!
Here's a picture of the spaetzle on their own, so you can see the nifty little guys:
We smothered it in mushroom gravy, and MAN was it tasty.
Everyone make spaetzle! Fun to say, and even more fun to eat! :o)