Swiss Spätzli

Name: Swiss Spätzli
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Swiss
Ingredients: ⅓ cup milk; ⅓ cup water; 2 eggs; 250g plain flour; 1 teaspoon salt flakes; Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste; 50g butter

I love eating spätzli in Switzerland where they’re also known as chnöpfli (or knoepfle). While the Germans and Austrians make spaetzli too, they serve them simply boiled – the butter-loving Swiss go a step further. Once boiled Swiss spätzli are fried in butter, making them irresistible especially with a creamy seafood or mushroom sauce! A special device called a spätzli pan can be used to shape the dumpling dough (see video below). Ours came from Switzerland with Franz in the 1970s but I’ve had trouble finding them today, even in Switzerland. The Swiss hausfrau method is to cut bits of dough off the edge of a chopping board held over the boiling water, but I think you need a Swiss Grossmutti to teach you this technique as I’ve never had any luck doing it. Thankfully pushing the dough through a piping bag and snipping off little bits works perfectly. Spätzli can be boiled a day ahead, refreshed in iced water then tossed with a little oil and refrigerated until ready to fry and serve. If you’re doubling or tripling this recipe, as we often do, rather than frying them it’s easier to use the oven: put them in a baking dish with the butter and bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Serves 2–4 as a side dish

Ingredients

⅓ cup milk
⅓ cup water
2 eggs
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt flakes
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
50g butter

Method

Lightly beat milk, water and eggs together with a fork; set aside.
Place flour in a mixing bowl, add salt and nutmeg and make a well in the centre.
Gradually pour in the milk mixture, using a wooden spoon to mix it in while pouring.
When it’s all added, beat for a minute or so until smooth and stretchy.
Set aside for 5 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of well salted water to the boil (10g salt/litre water).
Unless you have a spätzli pan, transfer dough to a disposable piping bag and make a small opening (about 2cm), hold it over the boiling water and cut off 1cm pieces as you squeeze it out.
Once some spätzli float, put the bag aside, let them cook for a further 10 seconds or so then use a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the pan into a large bowl of cold water.
Once all spätzli are removed, add more to the boiling water; repeat until all of the dough has been cooked.
Tip spätzli into a colander and set aside until ready to fry; if storing overnight, drain well, toss with a little vegetable oil, cover and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, melt butter in a frying pan over medium–high heat.
When butter is foaming, add spätzli, shake to coat them in the butter and cook for 5–8 minutes, gently stirring occasionally until coloured and crisp in parts.
Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with salt and serve hot.