Last Sunday was a gorgeous day, one of those days that make you happy to be alive. The weather was unseasonably warm and the sun was shining, which meant one thing… yard work. But while Jill and I were raking a yard full of leaves, tearing up invasive ivy (is there any other kind?) and planting garlic, grandmom was preparing Sunday dinner.
Grandmom had taken the opportunity of a nice Sunday to cook dinner for the family. She had gotten a pork shoulder and was planning on making roast pork, with sauerkraut and sweet potatoes. During a break in the raking, I had come inside because the smell of roasting pork drew me in. I opened the oven and peeked in. The browning pork smelled amazing, and I couldn’t wait to eat.
I felt that dinner needed something else though, and one of my favorite side dishes popped immediately into my head, spaetzle. These little German dumplings were already floating around my brain, strangely enough, because of Lidia Basitanich. Last weeks show (Lidia’s Italian Table is one of my favorite Sunday traditions) featured her making a whole wheat spaetzle, and even though it is typically thought of as a German dish, as those who have northern Italian heritage know, there is a commingling of German, Austrian and Italian cuisines in the far north of Italy. I ran my idea past grandmom since I didn’t want to intrude on her dinner plans, but she had had my spaetzle before and readily agreed to incorporate it into Sunday dinner… as long as I cooked it!
After several hours of work outside, Jill and I had worked up quite an appetite. It was time to get started on the spaetzle. It really couldn’t be easier, especially since I have a spaetzle maker that Jill got me a few years ago for Christmas (yes, chefs get each other random and obscure kitchen gadgets for holidays!). Before I came inside though, I pulled up some of the young wild garlic that had propagated itself in the garden this fall.
In a bowl, I mixed two cups of whole wheat flour, a large pinch of salt, some black pepper, about a ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, four eggs, and enough milk to bring the dough together into a thick mass, about ½ cup or so. That’s it! Just combine and mix. I then covered the bowl and let it rest while I took a quick shower. This resting period allowed the flour in the dough to absorb the moisture, creating a more consistent and hydrated batter.
About a half hour later, dinner was just about ready. The pork came out of the oven to rest, and I had put a pot of water up to boil before showering. By the time I came back, the water was rolling and the spaetzle was ready to shape and cook. I got out my spaetzle maker from the pantry and took a good look at it because it had been a while since I last used it.
It’s a funny looking contraption, sort of like a cheese grater with big holes; a flat rectangle about twelve inches long and six inches wide with largish holes in it and a track on either side in which sits a small hopper for holding the batter.
I positioned the spaetzle maker over the pot, hooking the end on the lip of the pot and spooned about a third of the batter into the hopper. I then began to move the hopper back and forth over the length of the contraption, and as I did this, little irregularly shaped pellets of dough fell through the holes and into the water. As I moved the hopper back and forth over the length of the contraption, it cut off the small dough balls that had formed, thus creating the shape of the spaetzle.
After a few minutes, the entirety of the dough had gone through the hopper and into the boiling, salted water. As the tiny dumplings boiled, I pulled my trusty cast iron pan with the deep sides out of its storage spot. Onto the fire it went, with a thick pat of butter and a healthy dose of EVOO. . Browned butter is an incredible source of flavor, so I waited until the butter melted and sent up thick brown bubbles before I added the chopped wild garlic that I had harvested earlier. They sizzled immensely when they went into the hot fat, and I didn’t wait too long before I added the cooked spaetzle right from the water. A few quick tosses coated the dumplings with the garlic scented browned butter, and I added a little salt and pepper to season, as well as a bit of parmesan cheese. Oh man, this was going to be good!
I plated everything up on a big platter that Jill and I picked up in Granada, Spain that we don’t use enough, while Jill poured a sweet Riesling that my dad made this summer to go with the German food we were having.
Just like that, dinner was ready. A nice Sunday dinner of sliced roast pork and sauerkraut, whole wheat spaetzle with fresh garlic and brown butter, roasted local sweet potatoes that were so richly orange it almost hurt my eyes to look at, along with some sweet white wine. I love Sunday dinner. Cheers!