How to Cook Spaetzle With Sauerkraut
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 1 week
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients needed to make Spaetzle With Sauerkraut:
- 525 gms all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp plain bread crumbs
- 400 gms sauerkraut, recipe below
- 8 eggs
- 100 gms unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 250 ml water
For the sauerkraut:
- 2 tbsp sea salt, unrefined
- 4-5 lb medium cabbage heads, cored and shredded
Cooking instructions for Spaetzle With Sauerkraut:
- To make the sauerkraut, place the shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over it.
- Toss them well together to mix well, kneading or squeezing it at times to loosen up the cells in the cabbage.
- Once the cabbage wilts and juice oozes out of it, pack it into a sauerkraut crock tightly to do away with any air bubbles, until it is immersed in its own juice.
- Cover it with a plastic wrap loosely and set aside at room temperature, for at least a week or even 3-4 weeks if possible, without touching it even once.
- Store it in the refrigerator for as long as 6 months.
- To make the spaetzle, pour water into a large pot, along with a lashing of oil and heat it until it starts boiling.
- Dump the flour into a large bowl and make a hollow at the centre with your fingers.
- Add a dash of salt to the flour and crack the eggs into the well.
- Pour in water and knead the mixture into a smooth and soft dough with somewhat thick consistency.
- Place the dough in a colander and press hard to squeeze it out into the pot of hot water.
- Cook until the spaetzle floats up on the water surface and drain it out through a colander into a bowl.
- Spread the spaetzle across a baking dish and top it up with a layer of sauerkraut.
- Repeat the layers until all of them are used up, with the final layer made up of sauerkraut.
- Place a lid on top and set aside.
- Add a dollop of butter into a skillet to melt it over moderate heat and stir in the bread crumbs.
- Toast them briskly for a minute and spread it evenly across the topmost sauerkraut layer.
- Serve right away.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
