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!
Beef Stroganoff and Spaetzle…a Great Combination!
4 – 6
servings30
minutes10
minutes10
minutes50
MinutesIngredients
- Spaetzle Ingredients
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 Tbl Salt
1/2 Tbl White pepper
1/2 Tbl Nutmeg
5 Eggs
2/3 cup milk (if needed)
2 Tbl Sparkling mineral water
- Stroganoff Ingredients
2 lbs Tri-Tip Loin strips (from Costco)
24 oz Chicken broth, low sodium
2 – .25 oz Packets unflavored powdered gelatin
3 Tbl Paprika
4 Tbl Grapeseed oil
16 oz Crimini mushrooms, (or any of your favorite wild mushrooms)
10 oz Pearl onions, peeled and cut in half (frozen is ok if you can’t find fresh)
1 Shallot Thin slices
1 Tbl Soy sauce
1/2 Tbl Fish sauce
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbl Dijon mustard
2 cups Dry white wine
2 cups Sour cream
- Garnish
Fresh Italian parsley and chives, chopped
Directions
- Making the Spaetzle
- Add flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg into your stand mixer bowl. Whisk until well combined. (You don’t have to use a stand mixer. You can do it all in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon to do all the mixing. It might be a little more work. You still will make great spaetzle)
- Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients and place the bowl in the mixer. Use your paddle attachment and turn the mixer onto low. (Again, a stand mixer is not required. See comment above)
- Add the carbonated water. Continue mixing on low.
- Continue to mix until the dough resembles a thick pancake batter. Continue to mix for about 15 minutes. If too dry, add a little milk. If too wet, add a little flour.
- Let the spaetzle batter rest for 15 minutes
- Add water to your pasta pot while your spaetzle is resting. Add salt to the pasta water as if you were making any other kind of pasta. A couple of tablespoons should be good. Set your temperature on your pasta pot to boil.
- Stir your batter and ladle about a cup onto your spaetzle maker, or small cutting board (if you are not using one of those spaetzle makers)
- Slowly cut your dough/batter into the boiling water. When the noodles float to the top they are ready. Let noodles cook at least 30 seconds if not more depending on the size of your spaetzle. Use a strainer or some kind of slotted scoop and place them into a bowl of ice water.
- Drain spaetzle in a colander before serving. Add butter to a large saute pan over low-medium heat. You can as an option add some minced shallots to the butter as you saute the spaetzle to reheat. Cook until lightly golden. Set aside.
- Making the Stroganoff
- Pat your steaks dry and season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Add butter and oil to your cast iron pan. Set heat to medium-high. Place meat into the pan and cook until the outside has a little crust. Pull from the pan and set the steaks aside and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Add broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, Dijon mustard, and white wine to the pressure cooker and whisk.
- Cut steak into 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices. Place steak and any meat juices into the pressure cooker.
- Turn on the pressure cooker and set the time for 20 minutes.
- While the pressure cooker is working, let’s prepare the mushrooms and pearl onions.
- Cut mushrooms into thick slices or quarters based on your preference. Peel pearl onions and slice down the middle. Add butter to a large saute pan. Add mushrooms to pan over low-medium heat. Stir well. After 10 minutes of cooking, add pearl onions to the pan and stir. Continue to cook until mushrooms and onions are golden. Cover the pan and set it aside.
- When the pressure cooker is complete, use the quick release on your cooker to be able to open the cooker.
- Drain the pressure cooker. Place steak in a bowl and set aside. Strain the sauce into a saucepan.
- Turn heat on to the saucepan to a simmer. Add gelatin to the sauce and whisk. Reduce until sauce starts to thicken.
- Add sour cream into a small bowl. Slowly add some of the heated sauce to the sour cream and whisk. We use this process to temper the sour cream so it does not break
- After the sour cream has been tempered, add it back to the rest of the sauce.
- Add your sauce to the large pan of mushrooms. Add steak to the pan to reheat to temperature.
- Let’s Plate the Dish!
- Add some spaetzle to the bottom of your plate
- Ladle some stroganoff, mushrooms, pearl onions, and sauce onto the plate. Add some chopped parsley and chives and sprinkle on top.
- Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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