Fresh pasta nuggets of homemade joy! Another first.

Aw. Isn't it cute?
It's spaetzel. Gesundheit!

And, even though it's homemade, it's unbelievably easy.
It's just eggs, flour, and water.

Hey, wait a minute!
Pasta, in general, is eggs, flour and water.
Wow. How cool is that?

So, let's talk about spaetzel - the gateway pasta.
What do I mean?
Well, rather than having to fuss with rolling out pasta either by hand or using a machine to make progressively thinner sheets of pasta - with spaetzel, you simply need a colander and a spatula.

Hmm. Spaetzel. Spatula. Interesting.
Or, perhaps not.
Where was I?

Oh, yeah, so once the dough is beat and your arms are...beat, you press the loose dough with a spatula through a colander directly into boiling salted water. After a few minutes of cooking you shock them. (I simply mentioned to the pasta that they actually made a Mission Impossible 3 - and that seemed to chill the little chunkies right up. Use cold water, if you must.)

Next I lightly toasted the pasta in a hot pan with butter, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. And, voilà! (Or whatever the German equivalent is.) You've got homemade noodles. It actually took longer to eat them than make them. But, don't let that get around. I think they'd make me turn in my cook card.

And, this batch had a bit of dijon mustard in the dough which gave it just a bit of tang. They were yummy and delicious.
And...they seem to be...gone!

Here's the full recipe.

Spaetzle

2 eggs
2/3 c. water
1 1/2 c. flour
5-7 T. dijon mustard
1/2 stick butter
herbs to taste (rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc.)
S&P

Put large pot of water on heat to boil.
Prepare bowl of ice water.
Mix eggs, water and flour.
Add mustard depending on your tastes. (5T. will give you a light taste.)
Mix well - at least 10 minutes. (It should get a bit stringy.)
Pour batter into colander or anything with holes and push through with spatula over boiling water.
Cook 7 min or when they float to surface.
Eat one to test if done. ;)
Skim them off and place in an ice bath and allow them to sit for 1 min.
(I only use the ice bath for large amts.)
Add 1/2 stick of butter to hot pan.
Add pasta and toss to coat.
Add herbs, salt and pepper.
Enjoy!!