Cheesy Spätzle Casserole

Preparation

Spätzle are a soft egg noodle that originates from the Swabian region of Germany. Made from a simple dough of flour, eggs, and salt, Spätzle can be made using different tools like a Spätzlehobel (Spätzle maker), a chopping board and knife – or, less traditional, with a squeeze bottle. The spätzlehobel is fitted with a hopper, into which the batter is poured, then the hopper is slid back and forth over the holes, allowing the dough to drop into the boiling water. When using a chopping board, a portion of the dough is put on a wet chopping board, then small strips of dough are being scraped off with a wet knife or dough scraper. Our favourite method is making use of a squeeze bottle: simply pour the batter into a squeeze bottle and pipe small strips of dough into the boiling water.

*This recipe originally ran in Germany on HexClad.eu. 

PREPARE THE SPÄTZLE

1. Put the flour, 2 teaspoons of salt and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric whisky fitted with a whisking attachment while pouring the sparkling water, so that you get sticky flowy batter, add more seltzer as needed to thin the batter slightly. 
2. Fill a HexClad 7.5l hybrid stock pot with water, plenty of salt and a bay leaf and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove the bay leaf. 
3. Fill the batter into a squeezy bottle fitted with a nozzle and pipe small strips of dough into the boiling water.
4. Cook the spätzle in the boiling water in batches, for about 1 minute until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander, then transfer into a bowl.

FRY THE ONIONS

1. Once the spätzle are cooked, prepare the onions. Melt the butter in a HexClad 30cm Hybrid Pan and fry the onions with a pinch of salt over a medium heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar in the last 2 minutes of frying. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

ASSEMBLE THE CASSEROLE

1. Put the HexClad 30cm Hybrid Pan used for the onions back over a medium heat and pour in the cream. Season with a pinch of nutmeg and some salt and pepper. 
2. Add the cooked spätzle and stir through all of the grated cheese. Cover with the pan lid and leave to cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the cheese is stringy and melted.
3. Uncover the pan, distribute the melting onions over the spätzle, sprinkle with chives and serve.