Beef stroganoff and Spaetzle are just a great combination. Stroganoff is just one of the all-time great comfort foods and one of the Frank Family’s favorite dishes. Today, I decided to make it with spaetzle. Typically, I have always served stroganoff with egg noodles. There are many recipes for spaetzle floating around these days and I found myself wanting to try my hand at making it. Spaetzle is just another version of an egg noodle, except it has more of a dumpling-like texture. It is a little chewy and irregular in shape which makes it perfect for gravies and sauces.
Where Did Spaetzle Originate
Where did the name “Spätzle” or “Spaetzle” originate? It comes from the German word Spatzen, meaning “little sparrows” because that’s what they were thought to resemble when they were traditionally made by hand. It is a specialty from southwestern Germany and can also be found in the cuisines of Bavaria, Austria, Alsace, and Switzerland.
How to Make the Noodle/Dumpling
When making spaetzle, the dough resembles a very thick pancake batter. There are definitely kitchen gadgets out there that will help you to make a great spaetzle and make them quickly. You might have a ricer in your household that you have used to make mashed potatoes. You can use the ricer however it makes a much thinner noodle and is a little harder to work. My preference is to make a thicker noodle. I am a fan of the spaetzle maker with the little square box that moves back and forth and easily allows the batter to drop into the hot boiling water.
Two of the many spaetzle-making gadgets that are out there on the market
Maybe you are more of a traditionalist and you would prefer to make them by hand. You would place some batter on a small cutting board and use the back of a knife or a bench scraper and push/scrape batter into your simmering water. It might take a little longer, but this method works just as well once you get the hang of it. (We all know that when the dish first came about, no gadgets were available. This dish was only made by hand.)
You can use a bench scraper or the back of a knife to cut and push the batter into your hot water.
If you have some leftover spaetzle, don’t hesitate to add it to some roasted veggies in a butter sauce, or meatballs with a red sauce. So many options!
Let’s Talk About the Stroganoff!
On one of my previous recipes for beef stroganoff, I prepare the dish using sous vide. Check out my recipe here! It is a great recipe, however, there is a time issue of needing 5 hours to make magic out of using a tougher piece of meat. So my thought was this time how about using a pressure cooker similar to one of the One Pot appliances out on the market. It will tenderize any tough meat in record time! So if time is an issue and you want to save some money by not having to use prime meat then this method is definitely the way to go.
What makes this recipe different than my previous recipe other than the use of a pressure cooker instead of the sous vide? In addition to matching the stroganoff with a great side dish like spaetzle, we are adjusting the spices and some of the other ingredients. I have found that when using the pressure cooker we have to almost double the amount of spices used. Salt is the only ingredient I would not increase. We can always add more salt later. It is hard to reduce the effect of oversalting after the fact.
Let me know all the great ways you are using spaetzle in the comments below. As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!