We still have a little Mutschli in the fridge, so we decided to riff off our basic Spätzli recipe and build it into a main course. Rather than serving it as a side dish, we are stirring it in with some veggies and bacon before topping it all off with a creamy alpine cheese based sauce! There is a lot to do at once for this meal, so you’ll have to play around with balancing timing between the three main components (Spätzli, bacon/veggies, and sauce)…but once you get the hang of it, it’s not too difficult.
If you prefer a little additional flare for you dumplings/noodles, take a gander at some of our other Spätzli Recipes!
Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients:
- For the Spätzli: (Or try one of our other Spätzli Recipes)
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup of milk (or water, but milk is better if you’ve got it)
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of pepper (white or black)
- You will also need a colander with medium sized holes and a spatula for this particular recipe. If you don’t have those, that’s okay…you can always take the dough on a cutting board, and “cut and flip” pieces into the water. But, the colander/spatula method is the way to go if you can.
- Bacon
- Vegetables. We are using peas, bell pepper, mushrooms, and carrots, but if we had Swiss Chard, Spinach, or Kale, we’d be using that too!
- For the Sauce
- Milk
- Cheese
- Black Pepper
- Optional: White Wine
Method:
- Prepare your Spätzli batter:
- In a large bowl, mix your flour, a pinch of salt, and a little pepper together.
- Crack and beat your eggs in another bowl, and then pour them into your flour mix, and stir to combine.
- Continue stirring as you slowly pour in your milk.
- You want the dough to come together smoothly and not be too thin (or it will fall apart in the water) and not too hard (or it won’t get through the colander holes).
- In a large pot, start to boil some water with a bit of salt dissolved in
- While the water heats, cut your bacon into strips, and dice your vegetables.
- Melt a little oil in a pan, and add your bacon to let it start to cook. Then, add your veggies.
- While the bacon and veggies cook, turn your attention back to your Spätzli.
- Pour your dough into your colander, and holding it over your boiling water, run the spatula back and forth to drop Spätzli dumplings into the water.
- After a few minutes, when your Spätzli are floating at the top of the water, they are done boiling!
- Drain the Spätzli (I’m using a slotted spoon since my colandar is dirty).
- Add your Spätzli to the bacon and veggie pan with the heat off, and stir to combine.
- Turn your attention to your sauce!
- **If you prefer a thicker sauce, make a roux (melt some butter in your sauce pan, and whisk an equal amount of flour to combine) before moving on to the below step**
- In a saucepan, begin to melt your cheese, and then whisk in your milk to combine. Then, when the milk is heated, whisk in a splash of wine.
- Keep whisking, and add your black pepper.
- When the sauce is nearly done, crank the heat back up on your veggies and Spätzli. Then, add your sauce, stir to combine, and you’re good to go!
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
