spinach spätzli

spätzli is actually spätzle, if you are german. depending on size, spätzli can also be knöpfli (small buttons). and if you have no idea what i am talking about: spätzli is a wonderful swiss dish (plus: also a word you could use for your sweetheart - it ends with -i like all cute words in swiss german) made with fresh eggs, flour, milk, a dash of nutmeg and some spinach. its a quick and easy meal to make. you could serve it with meat - i am happy to serve it just with a salad on the side as i like to think of it as a main dish that doesnt need much else to make starving bellies happy. i am using spinach here - you could use herbs or a dash of curry or safron or even some pumpkin purree to season the spätzli. whatever your heart desires. speaking of it: nothing beats freshly made spätzli. but i must admit: there is not much else out there in the world that tastes as good as some leftover spätzli, fried in a little butter until golden with some cheese on top. - just delightful!

RECIPE

600gr cooked & finely pureed spinach
400gr flour
2 teaspoon salt
some freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoon semolina
4 eggs
2 dl water

ca. 100 g cheese, such as gruyere

put flour, salt, nutmeg and semolina in a bowl and build a hollow in the centre. mix eggs with the water and put in the hollow. using a wodden spoon and working slowly mix a dough and work until the dough is shiny and some bubbles emerge. mix in the spinach and mix well. cover with some clingfilm and let rest for about 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 200 c°
boil some salted water in a big pot.
to make the spätzli you can use your potato ricer or a spaetzle maker (simply put the dough into ricer / spatzle maker - press directly into water - cook - and you are done). in case of an emergency, use your colander as a spaetzle maker. let spaetzle cook until they rise to the surface, then drain.
put in a large baking dish, sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until cheese has melted and turned a dash golden. - serve asap.