Spaetzle with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 200 g spelt whole‑grain flour
• Salt
• 350 g brown mushrooms (e.g., button mushrooms)
• 300 g leeks (1 stalk)
• 100 g hard cheese (e.g., Gruyère, Emmental, Bergkäse)
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• Pepper
• 2 onions
• 0.5 bunch chives (10 g)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the flour and about 75 ml warm water, season with salt, and mix with the dough hooks of a hand mixer until a smooth, thick batter forms that bubbles when stirred. The batter should flow from a spoon without tearing.

2. 2.

   Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a wide pot. Place a portion of the batter on a spaetzle sieve and press the spaetzle into the boiling water. Cook until they rise to the surface, stir, lift with a slotted spoon, shock in cold water, and drain well. Repeat until all batter is used.

3. 3.

   Preheat the oven together with a baking dish to 200 °C (180 °C fan‑forced; gas: level 3).

4. 4.

   Clean the mushrooms and slice them. Cut the leeks lengthwise, clean, wash, and slice into about 1 cm thick pieces. Grate the cheese.

5. 5.

   Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and sauté the mushrooms and leeks for 5–6 minutes. Let the mushroom liquid evaporate and season with salt and pepper.

6. 6.

   Remove the baking dish from the oven and lower the temperature to 50 °C. Spoon half of the spaetzle, vegetables, and cheese into the dish. Spread the remaining spaetzle over the top, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, season, and bake for 15–20 minutes until golden.

7. 7.

   Meanwhile peel the onions and cut them into thin strips. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and brown the onions over medium heat for about 7 minutes. Wash the chives, shake dry, and cut into rings.

8. 8.

   Take the spaetzle with mushrooms out of the oven, sprinkle with onions and chives, and serve immediately.