Cheese Spaetzle with Fried Onions

Ingredients

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• 400 g (3 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour German type 405
• 4 eggs medium
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) water cold
• 1 tsp salt
• salt for the cooking water, to taste
• 250 g (2 1/4 cup) Alpine cheese or Emmental coarsely grated
• 3 large onions
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• nutmeg and pepper to taste
• chives for sprinkling

Method

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the eggs and water and beat with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer into a thick, stringy batter. Keep beating until the batter blows bubbles and pulls into strands from the spoon. Then let it rest for 15 minutes.
2. Cut the onions into rings. Heat the butter and oil in a pan and fry the onions over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Season with salt and set aside.
3. Bring plenty of salted water to a simmer in a large pot. Warm an ovenproof bowl or deep pan in the oven at about 200 °F (100 °C).
4. Press the dough in batches through a spaetzle press or a spaetzle grater, or scrape it from a board, into the simmering water. As soon as the spaetzle float to the surface, after about 1 minute, lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain well.
5. Layer the spaetzle with the cheese in the warmed bowl. Season with nutmeg and pepper and toss briefly so the cheese melts.
6. Top with the fried onions and serve right away, sprinkled with chives.

Tip: The dough should tear slowly from the spoon. If it is too firm, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water; if it is too thin, add a little flour.

Tip: Without a spaetzle press, a potato ricer with large holes or a coarse sieve works, pressing the dough through with a spoon.