Pumpkin Spaetzle

Do you love the taste of pumpkin? Is it a yummy treat you look forward to all year long? When you scan the groaning board of Thanksgiving desserts, do you pass by the pecan pies, the cheesecakes, the maple this and apple that, zeroing in on the cracked-custard tops of the pumpkin pies? If your answer is yes, you are in Group A.

A’s need read no further! Click here for the recipe for Pumpkin Spaetzle, a wonderful new way to mainline this autumnal treasure. In this recipe a dash of cumin adds pep and the fresh sage is a nod to the season. Lucky you! Pumpkin in a starring role on the main plate of the feast with the inevitable pumpkin pie still to come!
On the other hand, if you don’t love pumpkin, if the taste brings to mind jack o’lanterns moldering on chilly November door stoops, their evil grins collapsing into blackened maws, you are not alone. For some the taste of pumpkin is a reminder these orange monsters a just days away from finally succumbing to the laws of nature, decomposing into the dirt from whence they came. Let’s call ourselves Group B.

But don’t despair, there’s hope yet! Click here for this recipe for Pumpkin Spaetzle, a wonderful way to endure the annual autumnal trial of pumpkin, pumpkin, everywhere you turn. Their essence is tamed in this recipe for the classic German boiled dumplings.  A sharp shot of cumin takes the taste into new territory, fresh sage throws another curve ball into the mix and plenty of butter and sharp Parmesan cheese distracts the palate from any vestigial tales-from-the-crypt undertones.

I tell you truthfully I have eaten Pumpkin Spaetzle. It is delicious.

Plus it’s a lovely  color which A’s and B’s alike will admire.

Letting the canned pumpkin purée drain through a fine sieve for a couple of hours works wonders in thickening up the pumpkin. A whiff of the vapors wafting up from the discharge are proof this extra step is well worth it.

A spaetzle sieve is what you really want for this — Amazon carries the CucinaPro sliding spaetzle maker shown here.   And to see the SpecD’s spaetzle technique in action, check out this how-to video. Read the comments while you’re at it, esp. the one from the angry German grandma.

After the spaetzle have been boiled and drained rest them on a clean dish towel until it’s time for the final preparation. Simple: melt a lot of butter in a pan, chop up a lot of sage, cook ‘em ’til hot through and through. Finish with a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano and you’re good to go!

Pumpkin lovers (Group A) will swoon over these silky, sage-scented puffs underpinned by that mother of all orange squashes.

Group B will equally enjoy tucking into the buttery pillows spiked with the subversive charm of cumin under a tangle of cheese.

The pretty orange color is will appeal to both camps.

See? Not so hard to make everyone happy at Thanksgiving.

Click here for the recipe for Pumpkin Spaetzle.