Käsespätzle (Swabian cheese noodles)

Method

1. If using fresh packaged Spätzle from the refrigerated section, boil it in salted water for about 2 minutes, drain, and toss with a tablespoon of the butter. Homemade needs the same treatment once it floats.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C. Butter the baking dish.
3. Melt about 45 g of the butter in a wide pan. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until deeply golden. Lower the heat if they darken too fast. The onions matter as much as the cheese, so do not rush them.
4. Keep the Spätzle hot, or rewarm it briefly. Hot Spätzle melts the cheese evenly; cold Spätzle gives you cheese sitting in clumps on top.
5. Layer one third of the Spätzle in the dish, then one third of the cheese and one third of the onions. Add black pepper and a small pinch of salt. Repeat twice, finishing with cheese and onions.
6. Dot the top with the remaining butter.
7. Bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the edges are starting to crisp.
8. Rest for 5 minutes, then finish with chives.

Notes

• The best cheese combination in Germany is Bergkäse with Emmentaler. Avoid pre-shredded cheese where you can, since the anti-caking starch stops it melting smoothly.
• This is the one to check the label on. The cheese is the dish, so there is nothing to swap it for. Gruyère AOP is made with animal rennet by its own rules, and so are most Allgäuer Bergkäse and Emmentaler, which makes the standard version of this not vegetarian. The fix is a shopping fix, not a recipe fix: buy a Bergkäse and an Emmentaler that say mikrobielles Lab on the back, which the Bioland, Demeter and Alnatura ones usually do. They melt the same and the dish is unchanged. If nobody at the table is vegetarian, ignore all of this and buy the best Bergkäse you can find.
• Fresh packaged Spätzle is the best shortcut. Prefer the soft refrigerated kind over dried; it usually needs about 2 minutes.
• For a crisp onion topping, toss a handful of sliced onions with a tablespoon of flour, fry them separately in butter until crisp, and add them after baking.
• Serve with something sharp: a green salad, sesame cucumber salad, sauerkraut, or pickles. The dish is rich and wants an acid beside it.
• This is not a keto recipe.

Sources consulted

• The Daring Gourmet: Käsespätzle
• Dirndl Kitchen: Easy Käsespätzle
• The Peasant’s Daughter: Käsespätzle

Good with

• Quick sesame cucumber salad
• Swabian Potato Salad (Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat)

From Christoph Mayer