Side Dish

Swiss Spätzli

Spätzle · Spaetzle

Little egg dumplings pressed straight into simmering water, then tossed in butter. Serve them as a side to your main dish, or enjoy them just as they are.

Buttered Spätzli with chopped parsley on a painted porcelain plate

Zutaten

Ingredients
Portionen · Servings
2

To dress (choose your favourites)

Tick off ingredients as you go.

Nährwerte

Nutrition · per serving

Energy1764 kJ / 420 kcal
Fat19 g
of which saturates9.3 g
Carbohydrate46 g
of which sugars2 g
Fibre2.2 g
Protein15 g
Salt1.8 g

Estimate for the original amounts, per serving. Salt added to taste is not included. Calculated from the Swiss Food Composition Database (V7.1, FSVO).

Zubereitung

Directions
  1. 1

    Mix the flour, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, beaten eggs and milk until the dough is smooth and even.

  2. 2

    Press the dough through a Spätzli maker or a colander into heavily simmering, lightly boiling salted water. Cook until the dumplings rise to the surface and are cooked through, about 5–8 minutes depending on the water temperature. Drain.

  3. 3

    Sauté in butter or another fat (did someone say bacon or duck?).

  4. 4

    Dress with your choice of toppings. Serve as a side to your main dish, or enjoy them just as they are.

Tipp · Wine pairing

Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or even a Chardonnay.

Tipp · Good to know

In German the dish is also written Spätzle, and in English spaetzle.

En Guete!

Bon appétit · Buon appetito · Bun appetit · Enjoy your meal

A bit of history

Geschichte

Where Swiss Spätzli comes from, gathered from reliable sources such as the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland inventory.

Spätzli are small dumplings made with flour, eggs and water. According to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, they are found throughout German-speaking Switzerland, especially in the canton of Glarus, where they are served with the local Schabziger cheese seasoned with dried herbs. The name compares the little dumplings to sparrows (Spatz): the etymological dictionary of Wolfgang Pfeifer describes Spätzle as a southern German, Swabian dish of small dumplings cooked in water or milk, recorded from the 18th century. The other common name, Knöpfli, comes from Knopf, meaning button.

Sources

  1. Regional specialities · About Switzerland, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
  2. Spätzle · DWDS, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences
  3. Knöpfle · DWDS, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences