Oktoberfest is Here!

Oktoberfest activities have begun this week! Whether your in Germany for a week-long celebration or just taking up an Oktoberfest liter at your favorite pub, be sure to take in some German cuisine this week. Calorie counters and vegetarians beware: Oktoberfest cuisine isn’t know for its vegetables or for being carb friendly, but all will taste delicious! Below is a recipe for German spaetzle that is simple and easy for any household to try.

Brown Butter

There are many variations of this dish. Spaetzle are little dumplings that have the consistency between a homemade noodle and a dumpling. I find that these are a great alternative to making my own noodles because spaetzle requires less of a presentation that italian pasta shapes.

Ingredients:

For spaeztle:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, optional
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
pepper to taste

To coat spaetzle:
2 Tbsp. butter
2-3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Reduce to a gentle boil/simmer.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, nutmeg, if using, and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Add the eggs and milk alternately to the flour mixture.  Mix until smooth. Add extra flour or milk as necessary.

In batches, press the dough through the holes in a metal colander or through a spaetzle maker into the simmering water.  Cook just a few minutes-the spaetzle are done when they will rise to the surface.   Lift the spaetzle out with a mesh strainer or slotted spoon.

When all the spaetzle are cooked, remove pot from heat and put on a skillet. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat until slightly browned and then add the spaetzle.  Stir to coat the spaetzle and cook about 2 minutes or until they start to get a little color.  Stir in the chopped parsley.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

German Sausage

Curious of how sausage is made? That doesn’t matter, because whatever Uli does to make his sausages taste so great, we don’t want to know– we just care about eating them! For locals, Uli’s Famous Sausage is tucked away in Pike Place and is found on a number of restaurant menus including The Steelhead Diner and Feireabend. For those on the west coast, Uli’s is available on Amazon Fresh and customers can try his German varieties: Nurnberger and Thoringer.