The book “Deutschland vegetarisch,” from Brandstätter Verlag, is packed with wonderful, genuinely delicious recipes. Who could resist a plate of Käsespätzle?
By Barbara Hämmerl
Käsespätzle
Ingredients
For the spätzle
5 eggs (large) 500 g flour (type 405 / all-purpose) Salt 200 g Allgäu Emmental 200 g Allgäu mountain cheese Butter, for the dish ½ bunch chives
For the braised onions
3 large yellow onions 4 tbsp oil Salt 1 tsp sugar 50 ml dry white wine (or apple juice) Black pepper, freshly ground
Method
Whisk the eggs with 150 ml water. Stir in the sifted flour and a generous pinch of salt to form a dough. Using a wooden spoon or your hand, beat the dough in the bowl with a scooping, lifting motion until it turns creamy and starts to form bubbles. Cover and let rest briefly — the spätzle themselves aren’t cooked until the onions are already braising.
Slice the onions into rings. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, season with salt, and cook gently over low heat, stirring, for 15–20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Stir in the sugar, deglaze with the white wine, and bring to a boil. Season with pepper and add more salt if needed. While the onions braise, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, spread the spätzle dough with a palette knife or dough scraper onto a dampened wooden or plastic board with a smooth surface, so the dough tapers thin toward the edge. Using a spatula, scrape thin strips of dough directly off the board into the gently boiling water, until half the dough on the board is used up. (Alternatively, press the dough through a spätzle press or run it through a spätzle slicer straight into the boiling water, working in batches.) Let the spätzle rise to the surface, then simmer for 2 minutes. Lift out and rinse briefly under cold water. Drain, spread out on a baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Grate the cheese. Butter a baking dish and layer in the spätzle, cheese and onions in alternating layers. Bake in a hot oven at 200°C (180°C fan) on the second rack from the bottom for 35 minutes. Snip the chives into small rounds and scatter over the Käsespätzle before serving.
“Deutschland vegetarisch” is available from Brandstätter Verlag.
