As much as I love making spaetzle, it really seems like a two person job, and there are few better "bonding activities" than sharing this experience with someone you love. Yes, that means I typically invite Steven to join me in the kitchen when spaetzle is on the menu.
There's actually nothing complicated about the process of creating spaetzle. You simply combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and pour the pancake-like batter thru the spaetzle maker's hopper while moving the hopper back and forth, thereby creating little dumplings that drop into the boiling liquid. Now you can understand why it just works better when there are two sets of hands involved: one person slides the hopper back and forth while the other person pours the batter into the hopper.
Spaetzle is versatile. You can cook it in boiling water (as I usually do) or broth. Other ingredients can be swirled into the cooked product (cheese, onions, herbs, spinach, cream, butter, etc.), creating a more spectacular and elegant dish. It can be cooked ahead of the dinner hour, refrigerated, and reheated as the dinner gong is being struck. It freezes nicely for longer storage.
Then, of course, there's the drama of making spaetzle. As if by magic, others may appear in the kitchen to watch the show, perhaps hoping to become a part of the process. The only part they don't want to participate in is the cleanup. And, herein lies the downside of spaetzle. You need to rinse off the spaetzle maker as soon as you are through with it. Otherwise, the batter forms a hard crust on this kitchen tool, which can be somewhat challenging to remove if you've not followed my advice! But this is a small price to pay, and the bother is avoided if you remember to thoroughly rinse off the spaetzle maker immediately after use.
And there's yet another plus about choosing to serve this somewhat unconventional pasta: while preparing spaetzle, you can regale your family and friends with stories of its history. There are written references to spaetzle dating back into the 1700's, and today it continues to be found in the cuisines of Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and Alsace. In fact, even now on the continent, you may encounter it folded into soups and sauces, layered in casseroles, nestled alongside of meat dishes as well as incorporated into sweets and desserts. Interestingly, spaetzle is literally translated as "Little Sparrows", and the word is commonly employed as a term of affection, meaning "sweetheart" or "little treasure".
Spaetzle with Mushroom Powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 tablespoon mushroom powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup water
- Combine the flour, salt, and mushroom powder in a bowl and stir well.
- Whisk together the egg and water and add to the flour mixture, blending until smooth. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if mixture appears thicker than the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
- Using a spaetzle maker, colander, or other device, drop the batter into a large container of boiling water. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Drain and serve.
NOTE: Before I had an official spaetzle maker, I would place the thick batter on a Port Orford Cedar cutting board that Steven had hand-crafted for me, and, using a knife, slide bits of the batter into a boiling liquid. This board worked beautifully and it is a snap to clean up when compared to the spaetzle maker.