Today I want to introduce a Swabian delicacy to you. It´s called “Spätzle” and it is really the number one pasta in the south of Germany, especially in Baden-Württemberg.

Spätzle are mostly self made and can be eaten as a side order in combination with other food (like all kinds of meat for example) or, in combination with other ingredients, as a main dish. There are industrial made Spätzle as well, but I cannot recommend them!

There are different ways to prepare Spätzle. The way I do it is with a special machine. This way the Spätzle are prepared much faster. Especially when you don´t have the manual skills like older generations. Nevertheless you will learn more about the manual way in the youtube video on the bottom.

Recipe

The recipe for the dough is quite simple. You only need the following ingredients (for 4 persons):

• 500g flour

• 4-5 eggs

• Some water (approx. 150 ml)

• Some salt

You put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir as long until the dough gets some bubbles. Therefore you can use whether a wooden spoon or some stirring gear. Before you start preparing the dough you can already set up a big pot filled with water on the stove.

So when the water boils, you put some of the dough in the machine (or on a wooden board, depends on the way you do the Spätzle) and press them into the water. When the Spätzle come to the surface of the water, let them boil another minute. Then catch them with a basting ladle and put them in a sifter to get rid of the rest of the water.

Now repeat the whole thing until all of the dough is gone. Voila! Enjoy your meal!

The most popular meals with Spätzle are the following:

Linsen mit Spätzle (Lentils with Spätzle) – Typical Swabian

Gaisburger Marsch – Swabian Hotpot

Leberspätzle – Another ingredient for the dough is liver in this variation

Kässpätzle – This is the most popular variation which has its tradition in “Schwaben”, in the “Allgäu” and in “Vorarlberg” (specific regions in Germany and Austria). They are prepared with different sorts of cheese and onions. Very delicious!

There are a lot more variations, but if you know these ones, you´re already a connoisseur 🙂

Here´s a cute video I found on youtube. It shows an elderly Swabian woman preparing Spätzle in different ways. It´s all in German, but I think you will catch the most important things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeT8GMar9pw