Käse Spätzle, doesn’t sound so good when you translate it directly – “little sparrow”, even though no sparrows were harmed in the making of Käse Spätzle . I prefer the indirect translation – German mac ‘n cheese, although to be fair, Käse Spätzle is also found in Austria, Switzerland and Hungary. After my Food Friday post last week when I unfavorably compared Leberkäse, a Bavarian specialty to spam (the meat that comes out of a can), I figured it was time to highlight one of my favorite German dishes, Käse Spätzle.
Spätzle is a small egg noodle (Käse is “cheese”)which is usually served alongside a meat dish, but can also be served alone as pictured above. It dates back to at least the year 1725, but medieval drawings show that it has likely been around for much longer.
The geographic origin of Käse Spätzle is not known, although any Swabian (a local from the south west German states of Baden-Württemberg and a small part of Bavaria) will tell you that it’s a Swabian dish. Regardless of where it came from, it’s oohy-gooey melt in your mouth delicious!
The best Käse Spätzle is made from scratch, but the idea of making pasta from scratch seemed daunting to me until I found a step by step recipe for Käse Spätzle that looks relatively easy so I pledge (gulp!) to make homemade Käse Spätzle by the end of the year and share the results with you! Wish me luck! Has anyone tried making homemade pasta before? I’d love to hear about the process and of course the result.
Join in the fun by sharing your own Food Friday post. It could be a tasty meal you’ve had, a recipe, restaurant review, or food photography, whatever tickles your fancy and it doesn’t have to be travel related. What you consider local might be exotic to someone else. To join in the fun of Food Friday:
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