BRown Butter Spaetzle
Serves 4

Spaetzle (the name means “little sparrow” in German) is a tiny homemade noodle. Sauté the finished spaetzle in butter until the noodles are a bit crusty and the butter is gently browned. This makes the perfect side dish for a wintry supper of crisp-skinned roast chicken or juicy roast pork.

You can buy a special piece of equipment to push the spaetzle dough into the boiling water — but a metal colander with medium size holes (ie. not a fine mesh sieve) works fine for us. When you’re not scraping the dough through it, though, don’t leave the metal colander sitting over the pot of boiling water. If the colander gets too hot, it will cook the dough and holes will get plugged.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 to 1¼ cup milk, or as needed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine the flour, thyme, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and milk (start with the smaller quantity of milk and add more as needed). Blend the egg-milk mixture with the flour mixture, combining well to form a batter that looks like a thick pancake batter. Add more milk if needed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water near the stove. Place a metal colander with medium holes over the pot. Working in two batches use a plastic spatula to force half of the dough through the holes and into the boiling water. Allow the spaetzle to cook in the boiling water until the little dumplings float to the surface and the water comes back to a boil, about 2 minutes. Remove the spaetzle with a slotted spoon and place them in the bowl of ice water. Repeat with the other half of the dough. When all the spaetzle are done, strain them from the ice water.

Heat the butter in a nonstick sauté pan over medium high heat until it bubbles and is beginning to brown. Add the spaetzle and sauté until hot, golden, and a little crispy, stirring only occasionally to let them brown, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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