Swabian Mac and Cheese - Kässpätzle

Coming from the south of Germany I can't understand why many people think that the typical German food is sausage and pretzels... So here comes a typical food from my grandparents home: "Kässpätzle". It is a type of egg noodles with a runnier dough paired with cheese and onions. It is not really fancy, but it has always been a comfort food for me.

Another good point: It is meatless and makes a great meal for any vegetarian friend or family member. Just don't forget to pair it with a salad, as it is more on the heavy side. I have never met a person who doesn't like this dish and you can eat it with or without the onions, so even people, who don't like them, will love it.

A word about making the shape of the spätzles: I am using a potato-press, but there is also a traditional way to do it. I will show you this too. It takes a few times to get it right and the press is much easier and doesn't change the taste, but if you don't have one, this is the way to do it right.

Ingredients: (for five persons)

500 g all purpose flour

5 eggs

Salt

200 g grated Cheese (my favorite is Gouda, but you could also use a mixture of mozzarella and Swiss cheese)

3 - 4 Onions

a few grams of unsalted butter

Ingredients for a salad: lettuce, tomato, paprika, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, pepper, salt, toppings to your liking...

Supplies:

Potato-Press or a heat resistent board and a knife

usual kitchen supplies: a pan, a pot, a casserole dish, a knife etc.

To make the dough mix the eggs fully with the flour and the a grip of salt. The goal is to have a runny but not fully liquid dough. Use a bit of water if the dough is really dry or a bit of flour if the dough reminds you of a liquid. The consistency is perfect, when the dough is runny, but needs a moment to fall back into the bowl, when you take it out. Cover the bowl and set it aside.

Slice your onions into rings, put them with butter into a pan and fry them on a low temperature until they are golden and brown.

Grate all the cheese if it isn't already grated.

Heat your oven to 150°C and place a greased casserole dish into the oven.

Fill your largest pot with water, salt it (like you would for noodles) and bring it to a boil. Turn the temperature down to medium and fill the Potato-Press with dough. Press the dough into the water and wait until all Spätzle is swimming on the surface.

Take out your casserole dish from the oven and move the Spätzle in there. You can use a skimmer or a simple trowl to do so. Use about an fifth of your cheese to cover this first layer, before you place the dish back in the oven.

Bring the water in you pot to a boil again and make the next batch as written above.

Take a spoon of your dough and spread the dough onto you board. Hold one end of the board over the boiling water and start cutting thin stripes of your dough into the water. The knife and the board should be wet, so the dough doesn't stick.

In this Video you can see the technique very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6Ga9hMm4Y

Use every batch you make in the same way, as I described in the first step.

When you have used up all your dough and cheese, let it stay in the oven for about then minutes longer, so all your cheese will be melted. Use the time to make any salad you like.

Take the casserole out of the oven, place the onions on top (or as a side dish, if someone in your family doesn't like them) and enjoy this homemade comfort food. It is very helpful on cold days, against broken hearts and to feel good. Just don't try to count the calories!

Have a nice meal! or as I would say: "Guten Appetit!"