Colleen, I've only made spaetzle a couple of times, but we really liked it, I don't know why I don't make it more. Here it's usually served with gravy, but I'd like it better with fried onions, and even more with mushrooms AND fried onions.

I'll bet you'll be making them again soon...

Annie

One of the best things is that you can make them well in advance, then heat them up in some butter. Herby ones are good.

I love making spatzle! Welcome to the club. :) It's dead easy to make for a crowd, too. :) If you get into it more, I really recommend the flat kind of spatzle maker that sits over your pot. You use a scraper (usually included) to draw the dough across the holes and the pasta falls neatly into the bath. I've done all the improvised ones with colanders, ricers, et al., and this SO much easier and less messy.

I have a spätzle maker, and so I make them from time to time. I normally serve them with an herb/butter sauce.

Here's an inspiring spätzle video:

All hail Colleenoz! I love spaetzel but will probably never make it. Not difficult but I am such a minimalist both in time and space in the kitchen . . . I dunno if I'll ever get to the point where I will have the time and focus to devote to making home-made.

Well, pillog, you certainly made a decision for me. The last time I made spaetzle, it was a pain with the "makeshift" thing I used and I looked at buying a spaetzle maker (I'm not much on buying something for one thing which is why I've always resisted) but I am going right now to Amazon and ordering it! It's Oktober -- time to eat spaetzle!

Martha Scott, I am going to order one also!

This is the one I actually own and didn't find yesterday (they don't have good predictives on the spelling of spatzle and how to deal with the umlaut): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NLLG7C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It doesn't matter. It's the principle that counts. :) There's also a kind that's a press like a ricer (not cleaning that one!) and one that has a rectangular grid with a sliding chamber for the dough, like a garlic mandoline (ditto). The hands off grid with the scraper is SO easy (and so easy to store!). Just dump about a baseball to softball sized blob and pull across with the scraper like making a screenprint without any of the worry of how straight you're pulling. You can also control the size and shape a bit with how fast or slowly you pull.

Martha, I've been thinking. You could use this kind of spatzle maker for other things. I might try to keep the scraper just for it, though any bench scraper will probably work. The grid itself, however, could be used over, say a soup pot, if you wanted to steam some rolls, or you could use it as a drip grid for a small roast in a pinch (It's stainless, so it should wash up like new, right?). If you're making stuffed cabbage, you could use it to drain the head after you cut out the core and wash it, and again to drain after you blanch it. It's head of cabbage sized, right? Invert it if you're short a cooling rack or trivet. Use it instead of a colander for something you don't want to stack up in a bowl shape. I won't go on. But if you really want it to be multipurpose, I'm sure you can find things for it to do. :)

That's the one I ordered. Can't wait for it to come to make spaetzle again!

I made spaetzle a couple of weeks ago to put in this Hungarian tomato soup -- yum!

Brav-o colleenoz! I make all our pastas but have also never made spaetzle, which makes no sense as I'm 1/4 German and love many German dishes. So glad you decided to make it and reported back to us! I'm putting plllog's Spaetzle Lid & Scraper on my Amazon wish list! I can probably come up with a few extra ideas for it's use and I like that it'll store 'flat' : ) Martha, your spaetzle and Hungarian soup looks so hearty and good! DH and I both would love that on a cold evening : ) Islay, I wondered about adding herbs to the dough... I often do with pastas that have simple sauces. Thanks for the tip!

Spatzel is likely a first cousin to what some old timers called "rubbins"...you beat an egg in a pie plate, season, dip your hands into the egg and then into flour and rub them together over a bubbling pot of broth or soup. Repeat.

This is the contrapti that I have. It's only $11.00 on Amazon prime and works fine. I hang it on my pot rack to store it. I use it over a fairly large pot of boiling water.

I have the same one as Lars it it works great. Used it last week for brats and spaetzle.

Martha, I have a cold and would love some of your Hungarian spatzle soup right now! Did you post the recipe anywhere?

Colleen, are you further inspired? I've heard of (never seen) deep fried spatzle. I think it's supposed to be chilled first.

More thoughts; While spaztle is usually called a pasta (rightly), it lives in the borderland between pasta and dumpling. That's where the magic happens!

"Rubbins" sound interesting, and that Hungarian soup does look good. I am indeed further inspired plllog! The recipe I used had nutmeg but I think I overdid it a little as it was very nutmeg-y. Herbs will be the next go.

I would think deep fried spaetzle would be not unlike the little crackly bits of batter that get scooped up and dumped into our order along with fish and chips, when they've dripped off the fish as it's being lowered into the oil.

Sometimes I fry them in butter just to reheat, and sometimes leave them longer so they go golden. All is good!

Phillog -- I think it is posted but for ease here it is:

HUNGARIAN TOMATO SOUP

1 c. chopped onion

¾ c. chopped carrot

1 c. shredded cabbage

4 c. beef or chicken stock

1 pound fresh tomatoes or 1 (1 pound) can whole peeled tomatoes, quartered

1 small bay leaf

1 clove garlic

1 t. Lemon juice

1 t. Sugar

½ c. sour cream

1 t. Hungarian paprika

2 t. Flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2 c. spaetzle (recipe follows)

Combine onion, carrot and cabbage with stock in soup ot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, garlic, lemon juice and sugar. Simmer another hour. Remove bay leaf. Puree soup mixture in a food processor. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer.

Combine sour cream, paprika and flour well. Stir several spoonfuls of soup into sour cream mixture. Pour back into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat to serving temperature. Add spaetzle to soup just before serving.

SPAETZLE:

1 c. flour

½ t. Salt

Dash nutmeg

Dash pepper

1 egg

½ c. milk

Combine flour and seasonings in mixing bowl. Stir to combine, then make a well in the center. Pour egg and milk into the well and beat to blend, then stir in dry ingredients until well blended. Batter shold be rather stiff.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pour batter into a colander. Use a rubber scraper to force the batter through the holes in the colander into the boiling salted water. Cook spaetzle until they rise to the surface of the boiling water and stay there for about 30 seconds. Drain. Rise with cold water and drain again thoroughly.

NOTE: These can be made ahead of time to add to the soup just before serving.

My maker should come today and I have a tenderloin in the freezer -- I see "schnitzel and spaetzle" in my future!

Martha, thank-you! The recipe reads as good as it looks. I got tired of making soup a couple of years ago. It's happy-making to go into Fall with a brand new one. I'm going to go check on my Hungarian paprika now!

That soup looks wonderful.

We have the same gadget as pillog. DH makes great spaetzle (even GF using the flour mix we make. )....in chicken noodle soup, fried in butter, in a casserole with caramelized onions, instead of mac in mac and cheese...mmmm.

This whole thread has made me want to try them. I've never eaten them or made them. One question: all the recipes I've found have nutmeg in them. Nutmeg is a spice I find overpowering so I never use it. Do you think it's necessary?

I made my first ever last week and they were great. I did not use nutmeg. I only like it in pies or cookies. I used the lid posted above from Amazon. I used the hints found in the reviews. I mixed the dough and put it and the lid in the frig to cool, while I boiled the water. I also sprayed the lid with Pam. When the water boiled, I kept it at a simmer and had a hot pad to lift the lid up if needed. Nothing stuck to the lid like some of the reviews were complaining about.

Cookebook, they're just dumpling-pasta, as basic as it comes. You can do anything you want to them. If you're worried it's way too unconventional (e.g., deep fried sweet potato lemongrass chili (which actually sounds good!)) you can just call them spätzle-like or method, or make up a new name.

I've make garlic and herb, lemon, and one other variation.

I first made spatzle as a time saver for Passover Seder. They were made from matzah meal (flour made from matzah), which gave them a nice toasty flavor and ever so slightly coarser texture. They were really good.