Kässpätzle - Germany

Kässpätzle means cheese spätzle, spätzle being a type of egg noodle. This dish is known throughout all of Germany and beyond, however, it is said to be a Swabian dish originating in Baden-Württemberg for which Stuttgart stands as capital.

Although nothing alike, these noodles are so much easier to make than Italian pasta and you can't go wrong really... Some people say this is the German version of macaroni cheese, which doesn't do it justice. This dish is a delicious winter warmer. You could serve this with a glass of spicy Glühwein to warm you up on a cold winter's night. I have also made Kässpätzle and added in some fresh chopped spinach or sliverbeet before baking it in the oven.

Of course you can buy the spätzle ready made, but making the noodles is so easy and you can really taste the difference. This is an original Swabian family recipe a friend gave to me. We recently visited him in Baden-Wüttemberg and made it together. It was yum! :)

Serves 6 - 8 
4-5 brown onions sliced
Oil or butter for frying 
500g plain flour
3 eggs
approximately 1/4 -3/8 L water
1-2 teaspoons salt
250grams of grated Gouda, Edam or Emmantaler cheese or a mixture

Heat a pan with some oil or butter and then add the sliced onions. Fry the onions over medium heat until golden and caramelised and set aside.

Place flour in a bowl. Add eggs and salt and some of the water and stir. You can use a whisk if you have a strong one (as the dough becomes quite sticky and thick) or use a wooden spoon, stirring an d mixing until the flour lumps dissolve. Add water until you have a fluid but thick and stick consistency. Keep stirring until you see large bubbles appear as you mix it. NB these are not like the bubbles you see when you make pancakes at the top of the mixture. These are large bubbles that form whilst stirring.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt.When the water is boiling place some of the spätzle dough onto a bread board and smooth it out into a a layer a few millimeters thick. While holding the bread board over the boiling water, use a large knife to scrape strips of of the sticky spätzle dough off the bread board directly into the boiling water and repeat until all dough has been made into spätzle noodles.

Once the spätzle is cooked it will float to the top of the pot. Scoop it out as you go and place it in a a large baking dish layering it with spätzle , caramelised onions and cheese.

Repeat until you have used all the onions and spätzle . Top with cheese and place in a preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden on top.