Spaetzle
Spaetzle is harder to spell than make. In fact, it's one of the easiest and most impressive side dishes there is, a noodle whose dough is about as complicated as pancake batter and that can be crisped up in a pan to create a delicious accompaniment for almost any poultry or pork dish, especially braised ones.
- Salt
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon or more freshly ground black pepper
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk, more or less
- 2 to 4 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
- Chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish
Instructions:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Combine the flour with the pepper and a large pinch of salt in a bowl. Lightly beat together the eggs and milk and add the flour; stirring. If necessary, add a little more milk to make a batter about the consistency of pancake batter.
- Scoop a tablespoon or so of batter and drop it into the water; small pieces may break off but the batter should remain largely intact and form a disk; repeat, using about one-third to one-fourth of the batter, depending on the size of your pot. When the spaetzle rise to the top, a couple of minutes later (you mave have to loosen them from the bottom, but they'll pop right up), cook another minute or so, then transfer with a slotted spoon into a bowl of ice water. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
-  Drain the spaetzle (at this point you can toss them with a bit of oil and refrigerate, covered, for up to a day). Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the spaetzle, a few at a time, and quickly brown on both sides. Serve hot, garnished with the parsley or chives.