MAKING YOUR OWN YUMMY DROP NOODLES, WHOLEGRAIN OR NOT: VEGAN SPAETZLE (OR GALUSKA)

 Vegan Wholegrain Spaetzle with Browned Parsnips (This particular recipe is from my book,  World Vegan Feast.  The basic vegan spaetzle recipe-- wholegrain or not-- is at the end of this post. )

I really love homemade pasta, but I have to confess I don't make it that often these days. However, there is a quick and easy type of "drop noodle" (or "drop dumpling") that anyone of Northern Germanic, Austrian or Hungarian descent will know about, but many of the rest of us have more recently discovered. It's called spaetzle or spätzle or spätzli in German (pronounced shpet′slē), and galuska or nokedli in Hungarian. Similar drop noodles are called knöpfle or knödel in Southern Germany and Austria; and knöpfli in Switzerland. (Some of these words remind me of the Italian dumpling/pasta gnocchi, and, indeed, spaetzli are made in Northern Italy.) The German word is literally translated from German as "little sparrow".

You just mix up a batter, let it rest a bit and then scrape the batter (which is like a thick pancake batter) through some sort of device with holes so that it drops into boiling water like little beads. It cooks in a very short time. You drain it and serve it like any pasta, really. Spaetzle are usually served with gravies or cheesey, creamy sauces, or cooked in browned butter, but modern chefs are experimenting with many innovative ways of serving it. It is mixed with cooked greens, for instance, or herbs are added to the batter, or it is served with tomato sauce. A favorite German treatment for spaetzle is kaesesplaetzle, which are spaetzle mixed with cream and grilled chopped bacon, then topped with cheese and more bacon, and baked for half an hour or so. I'll have to work on a vegan version of that! But, you see, it can easily be used instead of macaroni or other pasta in casseroles.

Spaetzle seems to be all the rage just now-- like many other cheap, peasant foods of the past. The original version is made with white flour and lots of eggs. I devised a vegan version for the final issue of my newsletter, the Vegan Feast. We liked it fine, but yesterday I wanted to make a whole grain version that wasn't heavy.

White whole wheat flour came to mind, because it is lighter in color and lighter in taste than the ordinary whole wheat flour made from red wheat. Generally speaking, it is best to use an all-purpose or a bread flour for these noodles, because you need gluten to give them some "bite" (especially with no egg to hold them together). However, I only had white whole wheat PASTRY flour in my cupboard. That didn't deter me, however, and there is an option in the recipe for using that type of flour, with a little addition. Chickpea flour (or soy flour) provides the protein and color of eggs, and more whole grain goodness.

When I first made this recipe, I didn't have a spaetzle maker, so I improvised. Now I have two different devices, and I also have a food mill and a potato ricer, which can be used to make spaetzle that are more like long noodles (see below). Below, I'll post pictures and sources of various devices-- most are inexpensive.

IF YOU HAVE NEVER MADE THESE BEFORE, SOME VISUALS ARE USEFUL. TAKE A LOOK (These pics are not of vegan spaetzle, but it works the same). The vegan recipe for basic spaetzle is at the end of the post.

Here's a page with pictures of making spaetzle in the "Spaetzle hex" (or "Wizard").

Here's a youtube video of making them with a sliding spaetzle maker.

My spaetzle were little short ones, but this video shows how you can make long noodles with the spaetzle press  (this one makes s-shaped noodles.) You can use a potato ricer instead.

This video shows you how to make the batter (albeit, an egg batter), the resting process, and using a sliding spaetzle maker, then sauteing the spaetzle, which I didn't do, but it's an option. She also adds chopped herbs to her batter, which is a nice idea.

COOKING THE SPAETZLE:

SPAETZLE MAKERS:

IMPROVISED VERSION:
I didn't have a spaetzle maker the first time I made them, so I used a plastic grater-thingy with round holes that came with my mandolin slicer. I pushed the batter through with the back of a soup spoon:

My first batch of vegan spaetzle, made with my improvised device-- this batch was made with unbleached white flour.

It worked fine, but if you want to do this often, check out these spaetzle makers. (Who knew there would be so many?)

I now have one of these, Nana's spaetzle maker (also called a "pasta maker"):
(A metal steamer with similar holes would work as well.)

Canadian source
US Source

It fits over the pot and you scrape the batter through the holes with a bench scraper.

I also have a Norpro Stainless Steel Spaetzle Maker:

US Source
Canadian Source

And, also, there is a: Spaetzle Wizard

And a Spaetzle Pan

A metal steamer with similar holes would work as well.

And, why did I not think of using this ?? (Next time!) A food mill, for heaven's sake! (Use the disc with the largest holes.)

For images of even more spaetzle makers (both commercial and improvised), do a Google image search for "Pinterest spaetzle makers".

This picture is of my wholegrain version of spaetzle:

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S VEGAN SPAETZLE OR GALUSKA (EASY, QUICK HOMEMADE DROP NOODLES)

Serves 6

See serving suggestions at the end of the recipe, and see above for information on inexpensive and improvised Spaetzle makers. 

PS: "White whole wheat flour" is whole grain flour-- the only difference is the lighter color and milder taste.  If it comes from hard white wheat, it's good for making bread and noodles.  If it comes from soft white wheat, it's a pastry and cake flour.  I have seen a recipe or two using spelt flour, but I haven't tried that yet.

1 1/2 cups nondairy milk of choice

1 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached white or whole wheat flour (can be hard white whole wheat flour)

Tip: You can substitute 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat pastry flour + 1/4 cup semolina flour for the white or regular whole wheat flour

1 cup chickpea flour (besan or channa flour) or full-fat soy flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional: freshly-ground black pepper to taste

a large pot of boiling water

Tip: Play around with adding herbs to the batter or using pureed cooked vegetables in place of some of the milk.

Whisk the flours and salt (and optional pepper) together in a small bowl. Pour the milk into a medium bowl and whisk in the flour mixture until smooth. It should be like a thick pancake batter. Beat it until it gets kind of "gluey". This is to develop the gluten. Now, cover it and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook the Spaetzle, have the large pot of water boiling and whatever apparatus you are going to use to make the Spaetzle. Place some batter into the receptacle and slide, turn or push the batter through, depending on which kind you are using. As soon as the Spaetzle float to the top, scoop them out with a slotted spoon into a colander and continue until all of your batter is used up.

Serving Suggestions:

The simplest way to serve them is coated with the melted vegan butter or a tasty oil and serve them as-is with a vegan stew or hearty sauce. You can sauté them a little in the vegan butter or oil of your choice. You could let them cool and use them in a casserole, as you might with ordinary pasta. You can bake them with vegan cheese. Let your imagination take flight with these "little sparrows".

I like to combine spaetzle with hearty fall and winter vegetables and fruits, such as apples, pears and root vegetables. There is a German dish that pairs spaetzle with stewed lentils, accompanied by sausages-- have to try a vegan version of that. (Here is a recipe for that dish, which could be made vegan with vegan bacon, vegan sausages, and vegan broth.)

Another I want to try is Swiss Apple Spaetzle. (Here's a non-vegan recipe for that, but you could make it vegan by using apple juice instead of 1 cup of the non-dairy milk, and vegan butter).

Happy Noodle-Making!