Unfortunately I don't own a speatzle maker, yes a special tool does exist, but the recipe said that you can use a collander, well that was a huge mistake and a big mess, however, a regular gallon size zip lock bag did the trick. I put the batter inside, cut a little hole and used a spoon to dispense little drops into the boiling water. This is an incredibly fast cooking process, and when you crave a starch or a noodle, but don't have any in the house, as long as you have flour, eggs and milk, you've got yourself a meal.
My spaetzle Au Gratin:
for the spaetzle:
2 1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
directions: mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, beat eggs with milk, then add to the dry ingredients, what you will get is a pretty wet dough. Place in a spaetzle maker and add into boiling water, remove as soon as spaetzle comes up. ( I used a large ziplock bag with a small cutout, use a spoon to drop little pieces into the boiling water, I did this in 3 batches)
for the Gratin
1 large onion
1 green pepper
package of Italian chicken sausage
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1.5 cup shredded cheese, I used a mexican blend
directions: saute onions in a skillet on medium heat with olive oil until golden and translucent, add to the bowl with spaetzle, in a skillet, sautee sausage, peppers and cabbage, for 5-10 minutes until brown and soft, add to the bowl with other ingredients. mix everything together and 1 cup cheese and mix. Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and some parmesan cheese if available.
note** my mixture was a little dry so once I put everything in the baking dish, I drizzled about 1/2 cup of vegetable stock all over just to make sure it doesnt dry out.
bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
Enjoy!!
