Monday Mouthful Roundup and the Next Challenge: Spaetzle

Last week's French challenge for Monday Mouthful, as you know from my previous post, was Champignons de Paris (or mushrooms). Go check out ChefE's Crepe Suzette 'Champignons' for another delicious take on champignons à la française...

The next challenge is something that you can find at almost every German restaurant (and certainly at every Alsatian one)--Spaetzle. Spaetzle is a German noodle that is often served as a side dish and fried up after boiled. We often buy premade Spaetzle, and just last week my husband fried some up with a little butter, bacon, onion and parmesan cheese, but we've been wanting to make this noodle from scratch for a while now. Please join us in the next challenge! Because weekly challenges can be a little demanding, we've decided to make this an every-other-week thing, so you''l have two weeks to try this recipe. (We'll post on Monday, May 18th.) And as always, email me or ChefE with a link to your post.

Spaetzle
Recipe from The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Authentic German Cooking by Mimi Sheraton
Makes about 4 cups Spaetzle, or about 6 servings.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 to 3/4 cup water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Add egg and mix. Add water gradually until batter is stiff but smooth. Press dough flat on a plate or floured board. With a sharp knife, scrape small pieces of dough off and drop into boiling salted water. There should be only one layer of Spaetzle at a time in cooking water. Boil gently 5 to 8 minutes, or
until you try a few and find them done. Remove from water with perforated spoon and drain.

Spaetzle may be served in pea, lentil or tomato soups, or as a side dish with meat or game. In the latter case, hot melted butter is usually poured over them just before serving. They may also be sauteed in butter until a bright golden color. Toasted breadcrumbs or grated Parmesan cheese may also be sprinkled over them.