Traveling to Germany: Käsespätzle Recipe (Deutschland’s Mac And Cheese)
I already shared 5 things about Germany that immediately come to my mind. I also talked about why I love to travel at home . Germany is the country I have chosen to “visit” this month. October sounded perfect for that, because of Octoberfest. Even though it takes place in September. But hey, let’s honor the name. When I researched about German cuisine, I noticed many delicious foods. Potatoes? Yes! Beer? Don’t mind if I do! Super cheesy homemade pasta dish with loads of onions? I’m sold! Are you ready to travel with me? Hop on in!
Why did I choose käsespatzle for my first German dish? It was a no-brainer: I LOVE pasta in every form and shape, I adore cheese (who doesn’t?) and onions are almost always my number one ingredient in every dish. The three of these together sounded perfect. Add a foamy cold dark beer or a crisp lager and you don’t even need to book the plane tickets to travel. It’s such a wonderful dish for a chilly Fall evening. Comfort food in its true form. And honestly, rather easy to make. My whole family loved it and I hope you will too! This is my version of the amazing käsespätzle. What German dishes would you LOVE to eat right now?
This dish is:
Soft and juicy inside
Crispy on the outside
Very hearty and filling
Little bit nutmeggy
Loaded with melty cheese
Full of sweet caramelized onions
Perfect for entertaining
Delicious family dinner
Vegetarian friendly
PS! To make the spätzle, you will need a cheese grater or a metallic colander with larger wholes or a special spätzlepress. I used the cheese grater and it worked perfectly. Plus a spatula will also come in handy.
Serving suggestions: cold beer, white wine, apple sauce, fresh green salad
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups / 375 g all-purpose flour
- 1 cup / 240 ml water
For the käsespätzle (German mac and cheese)
- 8 medium onions
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ground black pepper to taste
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 ½ cup / 350 ml light cream (10%)
- 10 ½ oz / 300 g grated cheese (I used Emmental)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- fresh parsley
Directions:
Whisk large eggs until foamy. Now add flour and water. Mix carefully until even. Let the mixture sit for about 30-minutes. In the meantime, you can make the sauce:
Thinly slice the onions (I cut them into 4 and then sliced). Take a large pan and melt the butter on it. Add sliced onions, salt, sugar and pepper. Stir and pan-fry for about 10–15 minutes, until the onions are light brown. If they start to burn too much, lower the heat and add a dash of water. Add nutmeg and paprika powder. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add light cream, grated cheese (save some cheese to sprinkle on top) and lemon juice. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Taste and add more salt, if needed. (I added about half a teaspoon). Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add plenty of salt, so it tastes like seawater. When the water starts boiling, use a spatula to help press the spätzle dough trough the cheese grater or colander holes. The little noodles will nicely drop into the boiling water. Boil until the spätzle have risen to the top, it takes about 7–10 minutes. In the meantime, you can preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C. Drain the spätzle. Mix the freshly boiled spätzle with cheese and onion sauce. Grease one medium deep baking dish or a few smaller dishes. Pour the cheesy spätzle to the baking dish(es). Sprinkle with leftover grated cheese and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with chopped fresh parsley.
Originally published at https://www.travelisoverrated.com.
