I first tasted spaetzle in Munich where it was simply boiled and served with a meatloaf-like dish covered with a mushroom gravy. They’re delicious little pasta blobs that soak up flavour from any additions. I have to admit though that I didn’t think much about recreating such a dish – I’ve seen recipes for spaetzle online but I had no time to make it from scratch or at least, I preferred to use my time to make other complex dishes.
Then, last week, I found a bag of ready-made spaetzle at one of my local shops. They were already cooked and only needed a brief spell in boiling water to heat them up – a perfect base for a weekday dinner. After a friend mentioned the addition of cheese and butter, I took a look online and came up with this rendition of käsespaetzle, cheese spaetzle. It’s total comfort food – starch, cheese, butter – and would be perfect for a chilly evening.
Käsespaetzle
serves 2.
500g bag of spaetzle
3 tbsps butter
1 cup grated cheese (gruyere preferable, but I used a mild cheddar since that was what I had in the flat)
2 onions, thinly sliced
salt and black pepper
In a pan over medium heat, heat some olive oil and then slowly fry the sliced onion – you want them slightly caramelised and a light brown. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
In the meantime, bring a pot of water to the boil. When the water’s boiling, boil the spaetzle for 2 minutes – I had to do this in a few batches. Drain and mix with the butter and most of the cheese. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Top with the onions and the remaining cheese. Place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the onions have gone brown.
I had it with a salad on the side. We had a little bit leftover too and it was even better the next day.
Mon, 17 Sep, 2007 at 13:51
So… which is the shop that sells the bags of ready made..? Hoping it was in London!
Mon, 17 Sep, 2007 at 21:22
They’re…kind of in London. I shop at Backhaus, based in Ham (just south of Richmond). However, if you work close to the German Embassy or the Goethe Institute, there’s a van that comes round every Friday!
Mon, 17 Sep, 2007 at 22:26
what a lovely blog you have, thanks for stopping by mine.
Tue, 18 Sep, 2007 at 09:59
Oh yum!! I love spatzle, very comforting indeed, and fun, if messy to make 🙂
This looks delicious.
Wed, 19 Sep, 2007 at 15:11
Thanks for visiting, Kat!
Niamh: Totally comforting and definitely looks messy to make! And there’s no time on weekdays to make messy things!
Sat, 25 Oct, 2008 at 22:46
A spaetzle van? Awesome!!!! It’s hard to find spaetzle in Melbourne. I did find some dried spaetzle at Aldi, but I haven’t tried it yet. Your kaesespaetzle looks delicious, you’ve inspired me to make my own!
xox Sarah
Mon, 27 Oct, 2008 at 22:51
Sarah: I haven’t tried dried spaetzle but we do have Aldis here…. might have to visit one now! I’ve seen the other Aldi products you get over there on your blog and am now keen to find the closest one to me!