Spaetzle with Lentils

What the heck is a spaetzle, you ask?
Well, it's a cute little freeform homeade noodle of Eastern European origin that you make by pressing dough through some kind of shape-former, like a grater, over a pot of water. They are easy to make, chewy and soft, and if you fry them after you boil them they get satisfyingly crispy too!

What are you waiting for? Make some spaetzle for your supper tonight!

This is a recipe I made up a couple of nights ago because I had some cooked lentils around and was reminiscing on this great lentil/cabbage/spaetzle stew I had made one time a long time ago. I remembered it had caraway seeds (Eastern European-type flavor!)...and so I set out to get the same flavor here, without the cabbage (hey, it was raining, and I didn't want to go out to the store, even if it IS about 50 feet from my house!)

This is a simple, hearty dish which looks kind of plain, but tastes delicious! Good with a salad or some sauteed greens for a great fall supper.

SPAETZLE WITH LENTILS
for the spaetzle:
1 cup flour (I use kamut...go with whatever flour yanks your crank)
about 1/8 tsp pink salt (or 1/4 tsp sea salt)
pinch freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten (although I bet you could sub in flax or some such and make vegan spaetzle - let me know if you try it!)
1/4 cup of milk of choice (I use plain unsweetened almond milk)

for the rest:
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of cooked brown or Puy lentils (or put a 1/2 cup of lentils in a saucepan with water to boil, then reduce to med-high and keep at a hard simmer, uncovered, till done - about 20 minutes to a half hour)
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
about 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper


First, mix together the dough ingredients till you have a smooth batter with no lumps. It will be fairly thick. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature to rest about an hour.

Meanwhile, cook yer lentils, if you haven't got pre-cooked ones already.

Then, when your pasta dough is rested enough, put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Using a cheese grater or other hole-y implement, push pieces of dough through the holes and into the boiling water, working in batches. The little dough strings will fall in the water and instantly become these cute little knobbly noodles, that float to the top of the pot. Let them stay there for about a minute, then remove and strain them and repeat the process again, until all the dough is used up.

And meanwhile: In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and saute the onion and caraway and mustard seeds till the onion is soft and the seeds pop and get aromatic. Add in the lentils and the spaetzle, and continue to cook till lentils are warm and the spaetzle are getting a little bit of a crunch to them. Add a splash or two of balsamic vinegar, to taste - this isn't meant to overwhelm the dish, just add a hint of sweet-sourness in the background, so start with a little splash, and taste! Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Serves 4.