Allgäu Cheese Spätzle

Ingredients

• 300 g flour
• 3 eggs
• 250 g low-fat quark
• 150 ml buttermilk
• Salt
• nutmeg
• parsley
• 50 g Bergkäse (1 piece)
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp milk (1.5% fat)
• 2 bulbs fennel
• 20 g butter (1 tbsp)
• Pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   Beat flour, eggs, quark, buttermilk, salt and nutmeg into a thick batter until it bubbles; cover and rest for 20 minutes.

2. 2.

   Wash, dry and chop parsley. Grate the cheese. Mix breadcrumbs with milk, parsley and cheese.

3. 3.

   Wash fennel, quarter, clean and finely chop. Heat 1 tsp butter in a pan. Sauté fennel over medium heat for 3 minutes. Deglaze with 5 tbsp water, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. 4.

   Beat the spätzle dough again and use a spätzle cutter to portion it into a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally; when the spätzle float after 1–2 minutes, lift them out with a slotted spoon.

5. 5.

   Layer the spätzle and fennel alternately in a baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumb-cheese mixture over the spätzle. Dot the remaining butter on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 240 °C (220 °C fan; gas: highest setting) for about 10 minutes.