Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Herbed Spaetzle with Pork tenderloin


The true star of this dinner was the spaetzle. Rob uses a recipe from epicurious, slightly altering the method.
Here is a definition from epicurious' food dictionary, for those who do not know what spaetzle is.
spaetzle
[SHPEHT-sluh, SHPEHT-sehl, SHPEHT-slee]
Literally translated from German as "little sparrow,"
spaetzle is a dish of tiny noodles or dumplings made
with flour, eggs, water or milk, salt and sometimes
nutmeg. The spaetzle dough can be firm enough to be
rolled and cut into slivers or soft enough to be forced
through a SIEVE or COLANDER with large holes. The small
pieces of dough are usually boiled before being tossed
with butter or added to soups or other dishes. In
Germany, spaetzle is served as a side dish much like
potatoes or rice, and is often accompanied by a sauce
or gravy.


HERBED SPAETZLE

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups packed fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leafed), washed and spun dry
3/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 tbsp butter
In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil for Spaetzle. In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt. Put parsley in a blender. In a heavy saucepan bring milk just to a simmer. With blender motor running add milk to parsley and blend until milk is very green.

In a bowl whisk together eggs and water and add green milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisking until mixture forms a soft, smooth batterlike dough. Force dough through a Spaetzle-maker (see above) into kettle of boiling water.


Stir Spaetzle gently to separate and boil 5 minutes, or until just tender. In a large colander drain Spaetzle and rinse well under cold water. Drain Spaetzle well.

Heat butter in a skillet, add garlic, then spaetzle. Sautee until just beginning to brown. Serve hot.

5 comments:

wheresmymind said...

Looks in-credible...'cept for the B-sprouts ;)

Anonymous said...

I love Spaetzle - especially with sauteed with some tasty swiss cheese and onions. Yum

Sara said...

I've always wanted to try spaetzle, maybe now I will Linda, your recipes are always so good.

Pepper said...

I've pondered that recipe many times, but always thought it looked like too much work. And wasn't sure how I was going to form the dumplings. They look gorgeous though!

Unknown said...

Jeff, you don't know what you are missing ;D
Dani, your method sounds delicious!
Sher, we rarely make it either, I don't know why. It is super easy.
Sara, hope you try it!
Pepper, you should give it a shot too.