Spinatspätzle mit Champignonsauce (spinach spätzle with mushroom sauce)
Green spätzle made with blanched spinach worked into the batter, scraped straight off a board into boiling water rather than pushed through a press, since a stiffer, spinach-thickened batter doesn't move through a spätzle press cleanly. Cooking the mushrooms for the sauce in two batches, not crowded together, is what gives them a browned, savoury edge instead of a pale, boiled one.
Prep30 min
Cook30 min
Rest20 min
Servings4
Christoph's spinach spätzle with mushroom sauce, the mushrooms seared in batches for a browned edge.
Ingredients
Written for a 4 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Spätzle
- 150 g fresh spinach rounded
- 400 g flour rounded
- 4 eggs rounded
- 8 g fine salt rounded
- 100 ml water, as needed rounded
Mushroom sauce
- 400 g button or cremini mushrooms, sliced rounded
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 100 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 200 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 150 ml heavy cream rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into cold water. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible and finely chop or blend.
- Combine the flour, eggs, salt and chopped spinach in a bowl. Mix vigorously, adding water a little at a time, until a thick, sticky batter forms that falls slowly off a 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.
- For the sauce, heat half the olive oil in a wide pan over high heat. Sear half the mushrooms in a single layer for 4 minutes without stirring, until browned, then remove. Repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms.
- Add the onion to the same pan and sauté for 4 minutes. Return the mushrooms, add the broth, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and simmer for 3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with the spätzle and serve.
Notes
- Use a stiff batter, not a loose one. Spinach adds moisture, so the batter needs enough flour to stay thick enough to scrape into ribbons rather than drip; add water sparingly.
- Sear the mushrooms in batches, not all at once. A crowded pan traps steam and boils the mushrooms grey instead of browning them, which is where the sauce’s savoury depth comes from.
- Cook the spätzle in batches too, so the water stays at a boil and they don’t clump together.
- Leftover spätzle reheat well in a hot pan with a little butter; the sauce reheats gently on the stove.
Ingredient substitutions
- Fresh spinach can be frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry.
- Button or cremini mushrooms can be a mix with a stronger variety, such as porcini or shiitake, for more depth.
- A grating of nutmeg in the batter is a traditional addition to spinach spätzle.
From Christoph Mayer