Spaetzle
An exceptional accompaniment to braised meats. This is the ideal side dish to sauerbraten. While there are special tools for making spaetzle, this recipe suggests using a wide-holed colander. I've also poured the batter into a Zip-Lock bag and then punched holes through the plastic with a pencil. Surprisingly, that worked very well.
  1. In a bowl, beat the eggs until light, then slowly beat in the milk, salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Using a wooden spoon, add the flour a little at a timme, beating until smooth. Batter will be very stiff - almost a wet dough. Cover bowl and let sit one hour to relax the gluten. After this resting period, bring to the boil a large pot of well salted water.
  2. Set a colander over the water and, about one cup of batter at a time, force batter through colander holes with a spatula. The batter should drip into the boiling water and form small dumplings. While the dumplings cook, rinse the colander to prevent gumming and sticking.
  3. Reduce heat and simmer spaetzle for two minutes. Skim them out of the water and set aside. Repeat this procedure until all the batter has been cooked.
  4. If you need to store the spaetzle for a long period, shock in ice water, drain, oil and refrigerate; these spaetzle may be sauteed in a little butter to reheat. Otheriwse, simple pile the accumulated spaetzle into a casserole. When all the spaetzle is cooked, add a little melted butter, season to taste with salt, white pepper, and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Sprinkle over all with toasted buttered bread crumbs. Heat in an oven until spaetle are puffy and hot.