Chicken and Spaetzle

Spaetzle is a German egg noodle, heavy on the egg. I like them better than dumplings since they hold together better and are very forgiving of being overcooked; I've found dumplings tend to dissolve. For either dish I use a whole free-range chicken as it has a strong taste that does well when stewed, and the low and slow cooking time ensures the meat is tender if using an older bird.

Ingredients

Chicken, either whole, or parts you'd normally use for a chicken and dumpling recipe.
2 large or 3 small onions, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 celery stalks, cleaned and cut into chunks.
Salt, pepper, garlic, and other spices to taste.

4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups flour

Directions

In a large stock pot brown the onions in a little oil or butter.

Add the chicken, carrots, celery, and spices with enough water to cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.

Simmer for 1.5 hours for a whole bird, an hour if using parts.

Once the chicken is cooked turn off the heat, remove the chicken from the pot, and allow to cool enough to cut the meat from the bone. Put the meat back in the pot.

Combine the eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the flour to make dough.

Bring the chicken stew back to a boil.

Place a spaetzle maker over the pot, then pour half of the batter into the cup of the device.

Quickly slide the cup back and forth to allow the batter to drop through.

Repeat with second half of batter, working quickly, until all the batter is cooking in the pot.

Note: if you do not have a spaetzle maker use a collander or ricer to make strings out of the dough. I use a slotted spoon and a fork. It's not pretty but it works.

Once all of the dough is in the pot set the spaetzle maker aside and give the dumplings a good stir.

Let them cook for a few minutes, until they are floating on the surface.

Serve up bowls of the soup/stew immediately.


You can also make just plain spaetzle by cooking the batter in boiled salted water, then serve it with a sprinkle of nutmeg and topped with butter. I find that bland though.