German Style Pasta Food

GERMAN SPAETZLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
• Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
• Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
• Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.

GERMAN-STYLE PASTA

Steps:

• Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
• While pasta is cooking, heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook cabbage in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in brown sugar, vinegar and caraway seed. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
• Stir pasta into cabbage mixture; heat until hot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

ORIGINAL GERMAN SWABIAN SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. While this is heating, sift the flour into a bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the salt and water.
• Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour and whisk together by hand or using an electric mixer until the batter is well beaten and bubbly, without any clumps of flour.
• Using a spaetzle maker or cutting board and bench scraper (or a long, think chef's knife) spread a thin layer of dough onto the board and slowly scrape strips directly into the boiling water.
• After 3-5 minutes, the first spaetzle that were added to the pot will begin bobbing to the top. This means they are cooked. They can be taken out with a skimmer and put into a colander to drain.
• Toss to coat with butter and add a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.
• Lightly pan fry in butter until light brown and a bit crispy.
• Serve sprinkled with grated cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped fresh herbs, or sautéed onions.

GERMAN NOODLE BAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in center; add eggs. Stir together, forming a dough. , Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion into a 12x9-in. rectangle. Dust both sides of dough with flour; roll up, jelly-roll style. Cut into 1/4-in. slices. Unroll noodles on paper towels; let dry for up to 2 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. In a Dutch oven, bring water to a rapid boil. Add noodles; cook 7-9 minutes or until tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and paprika until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Stir in eggs., Drain noodles; transfer to a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Top with cheese sauce. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly., ,

GESCHNETZELTES (CHICKEN IN CREAM SAUCE)

Steps:

• 1. Cut the chicken into thin strips, 2 to 3 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide.
• 2. Melt the butter in a frying pan and brown the chicken strips in it. Add the minced shallots when the meat is cooked part-way. When meat is no longer pink, add the wine and mushrooms (if using), and cook until sauce is reduced by 1/3.
• 3. Add the cream and tarragon, and cook until sauce is further reduced by 1/3. Season with salt and pepper.
• 4. This is traditionally served over hot, buttered egg noodles with a side dish of Dampfkartoffeln (boiled potatoes).

TRADITIONAL GERMAN SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk them. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the eggs in it. Add the milk (start with using slightly less and add more as needed). Attach a dough hook to the stand mixer and "knead" the dough for 16-20 minutes, or until bubbles appear (see pictured instructions for details). After 15 minutes or less of beating, use a wooden spoon to scoop and pull the dough. If bubbles/holes appear, the dough is done.
• Bring at least 2 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Using a Spätzle maker of your choice (I use and prefer the Spätzle press), press the noodles into the simmering water and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the noodles float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles to a colander, and then dump the noodles in a large bowl of ice water. Drain the noodles again, toss with some melted butter and serve warm.
• Make Ahead: The Spaetzle can be stored in the fridge for at least a couple of days and then reheated. Melt some butter in a large skillet and toss the Spätzle in it to heat through.

GERMAN-STYLE PASTA

Steps:

• Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
• While pasta is cooking, heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
• Cook cabbage in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in brown sugar, vinegar and caraway seed.
• Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
• Stir Pasta into cabbage mixture; heat until hot.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

GERMAN EGG NOODLES: SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Combine flour, eggs, and salt. Add enough water to make a batter the consistency of light cookie dough. Beat well until some air bubbles develop. Let the batter rest.
• Prepare a large pot with salted water. Bring to a boil. Scrape thin rolls of batter from a chopping board or run the batter through a sieve or spaetzle maker into the boiling water.
• Remove cooked spaetzle from the boiling water with a strainer and serve immediately or place in warm water if you are using the noodles soon but not immediately, or place noodles in cold water if you will be refrigerating or freezing.

GERMAN CHEESE-NOODLE CASSEROLE (KäSESPäTZLE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Start by making the caramelized onions about 1 hour before the casserole needs to go into the oven.
• Heat the butter and oil in a nonstick pan on medium. Turn heat to low and add onions. Stir every few minutes for about an hour, or until onions are lightly browned and sweet enough for your taste. Here is more information on caramelizing onions .
• Turn off the heat and set the onions aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Here is a step-by-step guide to making spätzle with a spätlebrett (wooden board used to make drop noodles). You may use a colander to form the noodles or a grater-like device with a hopper on it called a spätzle maker.
• Place a large pot of water on to boil. You can add salt if you wish.
• To make the dough, whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl or measuring cup, beat the eggs with the water and add to the flour-salt mixture.
• Beat for several minutes or until dough is smooth. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then beat it again. Add water or flour to adjust consistency to a thick batter (a little thinner than brownie batter).
• Place half of the dough in the hopper of the spätzle maker which is placed over the simmering water. Push and pull the hopper back and forth, creating a dough wave inside the hopper. Little bits of dough will be pushed out the other side and drop into the water. They will be fatter and more teardrop-shaped than the spätzle you make with a board.
• The noodles drop to the bottom of the pot, then rise to the surface. Let them sit there for another 2 or 3 minutes, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon or small sieve. Rinse briefly in hot water, then drain well and set aside.
• Using the second half of the dough, make another batch of noodles. If the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan, give a quick stir to loosen. They should then rise to the top.
• Butter and line a 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish with breadcrumbs .
• When noodles are done, add them to the (cooled) pan with the caramelized onions. Add the grated nutmeg and 3/4 of the grated cheese and stir to mix.
• Spoon noodles into the casserole, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake, covered, at 350 F for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes. If you like, brown the cheese topping with the broiler during the last 5 minutes.
• Serve hot.
• Enjoy.