Nockerl / Spätzle (plain egg dumplings)
Plain egg spätzle made from a thick, sticky batter scraped directly off a wet board into boiling water, a technique that only works with a batter stiff enough to hold a ribbon shape but wet enough to slide off the board in one motion. Beating the batter vigorously for a full few minutes before it rests is what develops enough gluten to give the dumplings a slight chew instead of falling apart in the water.
Prep15 min
Cook15 min
Rest20 min
Servings4
Christoph's plain spätzle, the batter beaten vigorously to develop enough gluten for a slight chew.
Ingredients
Written for a 4 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Spätzle
- 400 g flour rounded
- 5 eggs rounded
- 8 g fine salt rounded
- 100 ml water, as needed rounded
- 40 g butter, for tossing rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Combine the flour, eggs and salt in a bowl. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes, adding water a little at a time, until a thick, sticky batter forms that falls slowly off the spoon in a ribbon.
- Let rest for 20 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, scrape thin strips of batter directly off a wet cutting board into the water using a knife or spätzle scraper.
- Cook until they float, about 2 to 3 minutes, then lift out with a slotted spoon.
- Toss the cooked spätzle with the butter before serving.
Notes
- Beat the batter vigorously for the full time. This develops enough gluten structure to give the spätzle a slight chew and hold their shape in boiling water; an under-beaten batter falls apart.
- The batter should be thick and sticky, not pourable. It needs to hold a ribbon shape on the board long enough to scrape into strips; too thin, and it just runs off the board as a formless stream.
- Cook in batches, not all at once. Too much batter added at once drops the water temperature and the spätzle stick together instead of cooking evenly.
- Toss with butter immediately after draining, which stops them sticking to each other as they cool.
Ingredient substitutions
- This is a deliberately plain version, meant as a base for whatever sauce or dish you’re serving alongside, such as goulash, mushroom sauce, or simply grated cheese and fried onions (Käsespätzle).
- A pinch of nutmeg in the batter is a traditional addition.
- Leftover spätzle reheat well in a hot pan with a little butter.
From Christoph Mayer