You’ll usually find the calorie-laden Käsespätzle served with a side of salad, so you can happily kid yourself that it’s a healthy choice. Cheesy goodness served in a hot pan all mixed up with fried onions and spices... YUM! Not only is this the perfect mountain restaurant dish to keep you going for an afternoon on the slopes, but it also makes perfect soakage for après-ski. What more could you ask for? If you miss this perfect dish when you get home after your ski holidays, here’s a recipe so you can try to replicate your alpine experience.
To make authentic spätzle you’ll need a spätzle maker – you can substitute macaroni but this will alter the overall taste of the dish, so don’t forget to pick up a spätzle maker on your next ski holiday. Make the spätzle dough by beating the eggs together with flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg and turmeric (the turmeric also helps colour the dough). Add water little by little until the dough is nice and smooth, then round it off with a dash of olive oil. Knead for five minutes and let rest for a quarter of an hour. For a lighter dough, substitute water for sparkling mineral water.
Pour the dough into the spätzle maker and grate over a large saucepan full of boiling water. You’ll know the spätzle is cooked when it floats to the surface. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and rinse immediately with cold water to prevent it getting mushy.
Preheat the oven to 200° C. In a greased casserole dish, mix the spätzle with the cheese, reserving some cheese for the garnish. Dot with butter. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
In a frying pan, fry the onion rings in the rest of the butter. Remove the Käsespätzle from the oven and garnish with remaining cheese, onion rings and finely chopped parsely or chives. Serve with a fresh salad.
Guten appetit!
Käsespätzle with fried onions image widget
Born and raised in the ski paradise of Vancouver, Canada, I learned to ski before I can remember, balancing precariously on my parents’ skis as they sailed down the hill. I started snowboarding in my teens and am now delighted to be exploring everything Europe’s ski scene has to offer!
