Spaetzle

Have you ever been to a German restaurant or pub and had those tasty, pasta-like nuggets of goodness that often accompany schnitzels and the like? Spaetzle is a a traditional German food, made from a very basic dough, usually served with parsley and some kind of creamy sauce or grated cheese. Being a lover of all things dough-based, spaetzle is a staple in my kitchen. With some good quality bratwursts and a little salad, you've got yourself a dinner.
In Germany, or the hardcore German-style kitchen, spaetzle is made with a spaetzle press, a heavy metal contraption that resembles a potato ricer and presses the dough out in little rounds. Not wanting to buy a single-function piece of equipment to store in my 80 sq. foot kitchen, Jonah discovered that this can (sort of) easily be made by pushing the dough through the blunt side of a coarse cheese grater. I say sort of easy because while not difficult, this technique involves getting sticky dough all over your hand. However, delicious spaetzle is waiting on the other side of that messy grater. The heavy-duty hand washing it totally worth it.

Makes about 4 cups.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
A healthy pinch each of grated nutmeg and ground pepper (both optional)
Butter for browning
Parsley
Cheese, or whatever topping you like (I prefer grated Parmesan)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Stir together the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine eggs and milk; stir into the flour mixture, beating until the dough is very sticky. By the generous handful, push the dough through the blunt side of a coarse grater. The extruded pieces of dough will fall into the boiling water, cooking for 2-3 minutes. Fish out the spaetzle with a slotted spoon and transfer to a saute pan with a little bit of butter. Cook on medium heat until just browned and slightly crisp on the outside. Toss is some fresh parsley and grated cheese, mix gently, and serve hot.

Use as you would pasta as a side dish to almost any kind of entree.