Every two weeks Mindy @ Mindy's Mouthful is doing a French/German challenge, and this weeks pic was Mindy's idea- Spaetzle. I had looked around for an idea for a sweet/savory dish, and found something that stimulated my need to use up some pears that are still laying around. A few of my dishes last week, and this whole week will be pear infused recipes...
Over at Naturallady @ Borealkitchen you will find a great post on making Spaetzle, and she even throws in a recipe for 'Cheesey Spaetzle Casserole', and I thought I would make it my own with this...
Cheesy Pear Spaetzle Casserole
2 or 3 pears of your choice, thinly sliced, and put into lemon water, or onions
butter or oil
Cheddar & Smoked Braided Mozzarella, both grated
Small pint of heavy cream
1. Saute pear slices to golden grown. Have the oven preheating @ 400 degrees.
2. Layer an (oiled) casserole with layers of freshly made Spaetzle, cheese, pears, and top off with Panko bread crumbs for a nice crunch finish. Gently add some cream to the dish.
3. Bake at 400 F for 5-10 minutes until bubbly, and slightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
Nature Lady says that "Spaetzle is a very German dish most commonly associated with the region of Swabia (Schwaben). It's basically fresh homemade egg noodles, and nothing store-bought compares to the REAL THING. It's not difficult, but it is a bit messy (be forewarned, ye neat-freaks out there!), and you gotta work fast".
My dish is not so traditional, but the smokiness of the cheese, and the sweetness of the pears gave this a nice texture and flavor. We still at it as the main course, with steamed broccoli, heirloom tomatoes, and a glass of Dry Riesling.
I made two small ramekins of the sweet spaetzle and one larger casserole of just the casserole with no pears.
Go over to Mindy's site and check out her version of 'Spaetzle'...