Käsespätzle to me are like a nice, warm security blanket. Sort of like Mac & Cheese to American kids, this is something that German kids grow up with. There are dozens or hundreds of recipes, each person probably has their own variation. It’s often on the “kids menu” in restaurants, and does double duty as the vegetarian dish. This is my version, with caramelized onions and Ementhaller cheese (you could also use Gruyer) — and of course, freshly made Spätzle.
Ingredients
500 grams fresh Spätzle*
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2/3 cup milk
2 cups grated Ementhaller or Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika
parsley to garnish
crispy fried onions (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease oven-safe form or pan with butter (I use small enameled iron skillets). Set aside.
In a saucepan, place 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over high heat. Add onions. Cook over high heat until the onions start to brown. Stir frequently. Reduce heat. Add salt. Cook onions until soft and golden brown, an additional 20 minutes. Stir frequently and scrape the juices off the bottom of the pan. Set aside in a large work bowl.
Using the same saucepan, return to the heat and add remaining olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add the spätzle and heat through over moderate heat. It is ok if they brown a little. Set aside in the same work bowl as the spätzle.
To make the cheese sauce, first make a roux by melting remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Gradually sprinkle the flour and immediately begin stirring. Do not let the butter/flour burn so stir constantly until a paste forms. This will happen very quickly. Slowly add the milk and continue stirring until you have a white creamy sauce. If the mixture gets too thick, add additional milk. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix the onions, the spätzle and the cheese sauce together and fill into the oven-safe form. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and starts to brown on the top, approximately 15 minutes. Let set for 5-10 minutes to let the cheese set a little bit (and it is molten hot, so if you don’t wait, you’ll have a burned mouth. Serve with crispy fried onions and parsley sprinkled on top.
*Calculate 100-125 grams of spätzle per person. This recipe serves 4.
