Beat the dough In a large bowl, mix the flour, one and a half teaspoons of salt and the nutmeg, then add the eggs and most of the water. Beat hard with a wooden spoon for about five minutes until the dough is smooth, glossy and full of air bubbles, adding the rest of the water a little at a time.
02
Rest the dough Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest at room temperature for twenty minutes.
03
Fry the onions Melt forty grams of the butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat, add the sliced onions and fry them slowly, stirring often, for about fifteen minutes until deep golden brown and soft.
04
Heat the water and oven Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with one tablespoon of salt. At the same time, heat the oven to one hundred and sixty degrees Celsius and grease a baking dish with the remaining butter.
05
Cook the first batch Press or scrape about a quarter of the dough into the boiling water using a Spätzle press or by scraping thin strips off a wet board with a knife. Cook until the Spätzle float to the top, then about one more minute.
06
Layer with cheese Lift the Spätzle out with a slotted spoon, let them drain briefly, and spread them in the buttered dish. Scatter a handful of the grated cheese over them.
07
Repeat the layers Cook the remaining dough in three more batches, about two minutes each, layering each batch into the dish followed by more cheese, and finish with a layer of cheese on top.
08
Melt in the oven Put the dish in the oven for about ten minutes until all the cheese has melted.
09
Top and serve Spoon the fried onions over the top, grind over some black pepper, scatter with chives and serve straight away.
Käsespätzle are soft, freshly made egg noodles layered with grated mountain cheese and topped with butter-fried onions, from Swabia and the Allgäu in southern Germany. They are a hearty home-cooked main, often served with a simple green or potato salad.
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Method
1
Beat the dough
In a large bowl, mix the flour, one and a half teaspoons of salt and the nutmeg, then add the eggs and most of the water. Beat hard with a wooden spoon for about five minutes until the dough is smooth, glossy and full of air bubbles, adding the rest of the water a little at a time.
The dough is right when it falls slowly and heavily from the spoon and tears rather than running. If it pours like batter, beat in a spoonful more flour.
Beat the dough · 5 min
2
Rest the dough
Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest at room temperature for twenty minutes.
Rest the dough · 20 min
3
Fry the onions
Melt forty grams of the butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat, add the sliced onions and fry them slowly, stirring often, for about fifteen minutes until deep golden brown and soft.
Keep the heat at medium. If the onions brown too fast at the edges they turn bitter before they soften.
Fry the onions · 15 min
4
Heat the water and oven
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with one tablespoon of salt. At the same time, heat the oven to one hundred and sixty degrees Celsius and grease a baking dish with the remaining butter.
Heat the water and oven · 10 min
5
Cook the first batch
Press or scrape about a quarter of the dough into the boiling water using a Spätzle press or by scraping thin strips off a wet board with a knife. Cook until the Spätzle float to the top, then about one more minute.
If you have no Spätzle press, push the dough through a colander with large holes using a spatula. Dip the board or knife in the hot water between strips so the dough does not stick.
Cook the first batch · 2 min
6
Layer with cheese
Lift the Spätzle out with a slotted spoon, let them drain briefly, and spread them in the buttered dish. Scatter a handful of the grated cheese over them.
7
Repeat the layers
Cook the remaining dough in three more batches, about two minutes each, layering each batch into the dish followed by more cheese, and finish with a layer of cheese on top.
Add two or three tablespoons of the starchy cooking water between layers so the cheese melts into a creamy sauce instead of turning stringy and dry.
Repeat the layers · 6 min
8
Melt in the oven
Put the dish in the oven for about ten minutes until all the cheese has melted.
Melt in the oven · 10 min
9
Top and serve
Spoon the fried onions over the top, grind over some black pepper, scatter with chives and serve straight away.