spatzle

So let's get the obvious questions out of the way first.

How do you spell the name of this food?

Answer: About ten different ways, and we're going to use as many of them as possible in this posting, because they're all correct.

How do you pronounce spätzle / spaetzle / spätzli / spaetzli?

Answer: More or less like this: SHPAYT-zlee. (Yes, even though it ends in an "e", which seems as if it ought to be silent. This time it's not, honest.)

What does spätzli mean?*

Answer: Good question. No one's really sure. The word may be related to a dialect word for sparrow, with the diminutive suffix "-li" tacked on, the idea being that spaetzli looked like cute little sparrows somehow. (But then that suffix gets tacked onto practically everything in some regions. We're looking at you, Switzerland.)

What are spaetzli, anyway?**

Answer: Another good question, as it's hard to find the right word to most accurately translate their German-dialect name into English. "Dumpling" isn't quite right, though spatzli do sometimes wind up in soups and stews. But in terms of how they're made and what they're made of, spaetzli are more like fresh pasta than anything else. In fact, you'll find various recipe sources that translate spätzle as "noodles."

But this works only for certain kinds of spaetzli. as there's a lot of variation in spaetzle shapes. (And methods of making them, but we'll get to that momentarily.)

This is getting complicated. Is it going to be worth the trouble?

Answer: Absolutely. These are really good once you get the hang of them.

Spaetzli are simple at heart. They're made of a batter of flour, eggs and water or milk -- sometimes other ingredients get in there as well, mostly seasonings -- dropped into boiling water until they're cooked: about three minutes, if it even takes that long. They bob up to the top of the water when they're done. Then they're scooped out and drained, and either tossed with butter and served as a side dish, or treated in other interesting and yummy ways. The shape and size and consistency of the spätzle depend on how thick the batter is and what tool or method you use to shape them when they go into the boiling water. Some of the methods are very old fashioned: some are relatively modern. But regardless, when well made, spätzli are one of the best side dishes in all of Central European cooking, and worth the effort to make -- right up there with the other great fresh pastas of the Continent. And in German, Swiss and Austrian cooking, they are also the foundation on which numerous other great dishes are built.

(Click on "Read more..." for the recipe, instructions, and more background information)

This terrific recipe comes courtesy of Principia Gastronomica.