German board cut spaetzle with paprika creme fraiche, red lentils and bratwurst sausage!
This recipe takes some explaining, so the lead paragraphs will be short! This is a great German recipe for winter! Brown lentils are commonly served with spätzle and frankfurter style sausages in Germany. Red lentils are not traditional, but they are nice looking and they have a gentle flavor. The entire look of this entree is as bright as sunshine, when red lentils are used. There are several kinds of spätzle. I have posted many old fashioned spoon batter style spätzle recipes in the past. Spoon spätzle is made by streaming a thick noodle batter across the surface of very hot water. Spoon spätzle is the most tender of all spätzle and they puff up the most when they are fried. Spätzle literally translates to little sparrows. Spoon spätzle rarely looks like little sparrows, but board cut spätzle definitely has that look! Board cut spätzle can be very thin and tiny or it can be a medium thickness and size. The spätzle in the pictures is a medium size.
Board Cut Spätzle Dough: This recipe makes enough spätzle for 3 or 4 portions! Place 2 1/2 cups of regular bread flour or all purpose flour in a mixing bowl. Add 2 pinches of sea salt. Add 1 pinch of white pepper. Add 1 pinch of nutmeg. Stir the dry mixture. Form a well in the center of the flour. Place 5 ounces of whisked egg in the well. Stir the egg till it starts to combine with the flour. Start kneading till a very stiff dough is formed. Add 1 tablespoon of milk or water at a time, while kneading, till a medium stiff semi sticky noodle dough is formed. Only a few tablespoons are needed! Note: Do not add too much liquid or you will end up with spoon spätzle batter! The dough should not be as stiff as an Italian pasta dough, but it should be firm. After pressing a finger on the dough to leave a dent, the dough should barely spring back and the dent should remain. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Board Cut Spätzle: Allow the dough to reach room temperature. Stretch and roll a portion of the dough out, so it forms a rectangular 3 1/2" to 4" wide x 10" long strip that is about 1/2" thick. Gently press the dough strip onto a spätzle board or a small cutting board, so it sticks in place. Be sure to leave 3" to 4" of bare board as a leading edge. Heat a pot of water over medium/medium high heat. The water should only be gently boiling. Follow the directions in the next step! Board Cut Spätzle Technique: Board cut spätzle is made with a firm noodle dough. The noodle dough is not quite as thick as Italian semolina pasta dough, but it should be a medium firm texture. Only one portion of spätzle is needed for this recipe. The dough is rolled into a rectangular slab, then pressed onto a board. The board can be about 8"x10" with a handle. Some German chefs prefer a 14"x 20" board with no handle, that can be held with one arm and pressed against the ribs. The board is held with one arm and the other hand uses a long thin spatula spätzle knife to cut the thin strips of spätzle. A long straight thin cake spatula can be used as a spätzle knife. The board should be held close to a pot of boiling water. The spätzle knife blade is placed flush on the board in front of the dough at about a 15º to 25º angle and it is dragged back over the leading edge of the dough. After making contact with the dough, the leading edge of the dough becomes flattened. The knife then cuts a thin slice of dough, while being dragged forward against the board. The knifed should always be in contact with the board, when cutting spätzle! This is done quickly and with just enough force to send the spätzle flying through the air into the pot of boiling water. Of course, the board must be held close to the pot of water. A good German chef can stand twenty feet away, with his back turned and he can tell whether the spätzle is being made correctly just by listening to the sound of the knife and board! If the knife is at too steep or too thin of an angle, it makes certain noises when it drags across the board. If too much force or pressure is applied, certain sounds can be heard. If the knife is not worked fast enough, then the first group of spätzle will overcook! Once the board cutting spätzle technique is mastered, the sound and feel of making spätzle will become second nature. A good German cook can cut spätzle as fast as lightening! Start learning by making medium size spätzle. Medium size is a forgiving size. Small 1/8" thick spätzle are not difficult to make, after getting the feel of working the board with a spätzle knife.
Boiled Spätzle: After following the board cut spätzle technique above, the noodles should all be gently boiling in the water. The spätzle are finished cooking when they float on top of the hot water for a couple of minutes. Use a fryer net to scoop the spätzle out of the water. Drain off the excess water. Set the boiled spätzle aside, till the entree is ready to be finished.
Red Lentils: Boil 4 cups of water in a small sauce pot over medium high heat. Add 1 1/4 cups of red lentils. Return the liquid to a boil. Reduce the temperature to medium low heat. Simmer till the red lentils become tender. Drain the excess water out of the pot. Add 1/3 cup of chicken broth. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of minced onion. Add 1 small pinch of ground celery seed. Add 1 pat of unsalted butter. Add 1 thin sliced green onion. Add 4 pats of unsalted butter. Stir the ingredients. Keep the red lentils warm over very low heat. Grilled Bratwurst: Fresh sausage must be simmered at a low temperature, so the casing does not split! 155º is an ideal temperature to start the sausage cooking. After the casing is set, 175º is fine. Simmer a small pot of water over medium/medium low heat. Add a 6 ounce to 8 ounce uncooked fresh bratwurst sausage. Simmer the sausage, till it becomes fully cooked. Remove the sausage from the water and let it dry. Heat a saute pan or griddle over medium low heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Grill the bratwurst, till golden brown highlights appear. Keep the bratwurst warm on a stove top.
Paprikasauce: Heat a sauce pot over medium low heat. Add 1/4 cup of semi sweet German riesling white whine. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of milk. Add 1/4 cup of cream. Add 1/3 cup of sour cream. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of mild Hungarian paprika. (Spanish paprika has the wrong flavor profile.) Reduce the temperature to low heat. Gently simmer the paprikasauce, till it becomes a medium thin creme fraiche sauce consistency. Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.
Butter Fried Spätzle: Spätzle is usually finished by frying it in noisette butter! Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat. Add 6 pats of unsalted butter. Allow the butter to become a golden brown color and emit a hazelnut aroma. Add 1 portion of boiled spätzle, while shaking the pan. Saute and toss the spätzle, till the spätzle slightly puff up. (this only takes about 1 minute) Remove the pan from the heat. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Spätzle mit Bratwürst, Roten Linsen und Paprikasauce: Place a generous size mound of the red lentils on the center of a plate. Place a wide ring of spätzle around the lentils. Spoon some paprikasauce over the some of the spätzle that are closest to the lentils. Place a few Italian parsley leaves on the paprikasauce. Place the grilled bratwurst on the mount of red lentils.
Viola! Good old fashioned German food that has a lot of nice eye appeal! The board cut spätzle do have that classic little sparrow look. This is a very nice meal for warming up after coming in from the cold! Yum! ... Shawna
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