Hungarian Spaetzle -- Little Dumplings

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A key ingredient to Chicken and Veal Paprikas is the Hungarian Spaetzle or little dumplings!

My grandma Julia Nagy was quite the cook, preparing traditional Hungarian recipes which became the comfort food that we celebrate today. I can remember watching grandma prepare the batter for her little dumplings aka Hungarian Spaetzle. It was the key ingredient in her Chicken and Veal Paprikas. The recipe for Hungarian Spaetzle, little dumplings, is easy to make.

Photo Credit: Spaetzle taken by Kobako.

Do you dig little dumplings? Are you a Hungarian Spaetzle Lover? 

After all, size DOES matter!


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First of all, Hungarian Spaetzle is Little Dumplings

Little would be the operative word!

Hungarian Spaetzle -- The Little Dumplings FAQs 

An extracted resource of the Central European cuisine

Germany, Hungary Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia boast a large variety of dumplings, both sweet and savoury. A dumpling is called Kloesse in Northern Germany, Spaetzle, Knoepfle or Knoedel in Southern Germany and Austria. These are flour dumplings, the most common dumplings, thin or thick, made with eggs and semolina flour, boiled in water. Meat dumplings (called Klopse or Kloepse in North-Eastern Germany, Knoepfe and Nocken are in Southern Germany) contain meat or liver. Liver dumplings are frequent additions to soup. Thueringer Kloesse are made from raw or boiled potatoes, or a mixture of both, and are often filled with croutons. Bread dumplings are made with white bread and are sometimes shaped like a loaf of bread, and boiled in a napkin, in which case they are known as napkin dumplings (Serviettenknoedel).

In Hungary dumplings are called galuska or nokedli - small lumps cut from a thick flour and egg batter and dropped into boiling water, similar to the German Spaetzle, Knoepfle, or Knoedel. Sweet dumplings are made with flour and potato dough, which is wrapped around whole plums or apricots, and then boiled and rolled in hot buttered bread crumbs. Shlishkes or "Krumplinudli" are small boiled potato dumplings made from the same potato dough as the sweet plum dumplings, also rolled in hot buttered bread crumbs.

In Czech cuisine dumplings are called knedlik and in Slovakia they are called knedlicky. They are enjoyed along with a related stuffed version called pirohy, usually filled with bryndza (bryndzove pirohy), quark cheese, potatoes, onions, cabbage, mushrooms, or meat. Bryndzove halusky, the Slovak national dish, are small potato dumplings without a filling, served with salty sheep's cheese on top.

Hungarian Spaetzle should NOT look like these -- for these are BIG Dumplings! 

Pay attention please, as this is VERY important.

See this picture? Hungarian Spaetzle, as little dumplings go, should never look like this! You see this is a picture of my dinner plate when we vacationed in The Czech Republic, in Prague. It was our first dinner in the Eastern European city. We had opted to eat at the restaurant that advertised Hungarian Goulash with Dumplings. When this plate arrived, I looked at my hubby and exclaimed, "What the heck is this? Those aren't DUMPLINGS!"

You see size does matter. This was not the last time that I ordered DUMPLINGS while we toured The Czech Republic. Yep, ordering DUMPLINGS off the menu produced the same results as what you see on this plate. Well, at least they were consistent. For a third time, I asked if I could get Hungarian DUMPLINGS for dinner at the hostel we stayed at in the countryside. We did a lot of 'charades' back and forth to communicate what I had in mind. The chef told me it took her a day to prepare them. Well, although I thought that seemed odd as they are easy and simple to make, I nodded my head and said we'd see her the next night.

As hubby and I took our seat, that next night, my tastebuds were already in overdrive. It wasn't too long before dinner was served. OMG, "Those aren't dumplings!" Yep, you guessed it! For the third time, I got the type of BREAD "dumplings" as shown on this plate.

When we got home from our vacation, I relayed the story to mom. Ah, she laughed, "Next time, ask for SPAETZLE!"

Hungarian Spaetzle should look like these -- for these are LITTLE dumplings! 

Ah, so the Hungarian dumplings that I remember and love from my childhood while sitting in my grandma Julia Nagy's kitchen in Cleveland, Ohio -- those are LITTLE DUMPLINGS more easily referred to as Hungarian Spaetzle. Spaetzle you see definitely indicates that you want "little" dumplings. This is a very good picture of what a plate of Hungarian "little dumplings" or Spaetzle should look like.

These Hungarian Spaetzle are incredibly easy to make. And, the little dumplings taste fabulous in Chicken and Veal Paprikas. Oh, and you can serve them in your Hungarian Goulash too. In fact, there are plenty of applications er dishes that would taste delicious with Hungarian Spaetzle.

You know, I'm even thinking that my recipe for beef stroganoff would benefit from using Hungarian Spaetzle instead of plain butter noodles! Why don't you try it some time. Oh, and I've included a simple and easy to prepare recipe for Hungarian Spaetzle below!

Hungarian Spaetzle -- An Easy Recipe 

The Hungarian Spaetzle is a must for Chicken and Veal Paprikas!

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups of flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Preparation:
Add flour, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl.
Next, add water, eggs, and melted butter.
Mix ingredients together until lumps are gone and it is like a batter.
Prepare a pot of water with salt to bring to a boil.
Spoon a portion of the batter onto a flat plate.

With a spoon, beginning cutting about a spoonful of batter at a time from the edge of the plate into the boiling water.
Because of the small size of the spaetzle, they will rise fairly quickly to the surface.
Spaetzle will only need a few minutes to cook in the boiling water once they have risen.
Remove the cooked spaetzle to a colander to drain.

You need a good cast-iron pot for making your Hungarian Spaetzle -- Little Dumplings! 

The Mario Batali 6-Quart Italian Enamel-on-Cast-Iron Essentials Pot in Persimmon is just the ticket.

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How to make Hungarian Spaetzle 

Magdi's Hungarian Home Cooking Nokedli-Spatzle (made with kn

Hungarian Gourmet Home Cooking! You'll learn the secrets of the great tasting Hungarian dishes just like your Mom or Grandma showed you. www.gourmethungarian.com

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curated content from YouTube

Hungarian Spaetzle -- Little Dumplings aka

galuska or nokedli

Dumplings Cook-off -- BIG vs little 

Size Matters T-Shirt shirt
Size Matters T-Shirt by jaguarjulie
Tshirts from zazzle.com

So, does size matter to you?

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Give me BIG dumplings! I have a hearty appetite.

ElizabethJeanAllen says:

I prefer the big ones. I love to put them in home made chicken noodle soup.

24websurf says:

I really prefer my dumpling to be the BIG ones ;) However if they are firm and kind to the tongue, the smaller ones can work well too.

Susan52 says:

Amazingly, I've never had little dumplings like spaetzle! Dumplings in with my chicken are big.

I prefer little dumplings er spaetzle please!

JaguarJulie says:

You know it is funny that growing up in Cleveland with grandma cooking chicken paprikas with dumplings that I always assumed that getting a Hungarian food dish that dumplings were dumplings. But, after experiencing the big dumplings in Eastern Europe on vacation, I know that if I want the right dumplings, little dumplings, I will ask for Spaetzle!

 
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It's a Spaetzle Little Dumplings Cook-Off! 

Courtesy of Chef WordRidden on Flickr

This is an interesting series of pictures by Chef WordRidden demonstrating what his Spaetzle recipe looks like when compared to his challenger's. Funny, but the batter looks exactly the same!



Spätzle cook-off: 1 by WordRidden

Schorsch making his batter (with a secret ingredient).

Spätzle cook-off: 2 by WordRidden

The rival batters: Schorsch's on the left, mine on the right - or was it the oth...

Spätzle cook-off: 3 by WordRidden

Pressing the spaetzle through the

Spätzle cook-off: 4 by WordRidden

Scooping out the cooked spaetzle.

Spätzle cook-off: 5 by WordRidden

Schorsch with the finished product - which was absolutely delicious.

curated content from Flickr

Are you a Spaetzle Lover? Hungarian or Otherwise? 

My grandmother made the best "Hungarian" Spaetzle; however, she called it dumplings. The word dumplings can mean a lot of different things. I'm glad I figured out that I want little dumplings or Spaetzle. How about you? Do you love it? Can you make it?



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  • Reply
    ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Nov 10, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
    Awesome lens!
    Thanks for sharing
    Lizzy
  • Reply
    Michey Michey Sep 4, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
    Hi! Julie,
    I remember the paprika I use to eat when I was a kid and I was visiting some relatives in Cluj, now Cluj-Napoca.
    The dumplings were great and the sauce (gravy) was delicious. Actually the combination of both made a special meal. I was kind of finical as a kid, but in the house of my Aunt Berta, I used to eat everything she made%u2026 including, staffed cabbage and so on%u2026 My mother made staffed cabbage on Christmas but never paprika. I also made staffed cabbage and I am very tempting now to try the dumplings as you remand me of Aunt Berta. She was a terrific cook.
    Thanks
    Michey
  • Reply
    rayban rayban Sep 2, 2009 @ 5:11 am
    I've got a taste for chicken paprikas with Hungarian spaetzle. When can I have some?
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Spaetzle, Hungarian and Otherwise -- The Buzz 

Easiest Pasta Ever: Spaetzle | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn
2009-12-01-Spaetzle.jpg If you've never had spaetzle before, you've got to try them soon! Tonight, if possible! These rustic dumplings may not be as elegant as fresh pasta or have the charm of gnocchi, but they're incredible easy to ...
Spaetzle Fo Shizzle
Spaetzle (pronounced shpet-zle): little pasta dumplings that originated in parts of Eastern Europe (Germany, Hungary, Austria, to be more specific). They are simple to prepare, and are hearty and doughy, yet delicate and delicious. ...
Robyns Online World: Schnitzel & Spaetzle Dinner
Guy's recipe of One Special Spaetzle seemed good, but after watching him make it I knew it was very messy. I'm messy enough when I cook to start with and try to avoid super messy things. I have never made, or even eaten, spaetzle before ...
Pork Medallions With Herbed Spaetzle Recipe @ CDKitchen.com ...
A recipe for Pork Medallions With Herbed Spaetzle containing ***Pork Medallions*** pork tenderloin medallions (3 oz each) creole spice flour egg, BEATEN WITH water bread crumbs oil ***Herbed Spaetzle*** eggs milk chopped herbs nutmeg ...

You may opt to try a Spaetzle Mix! 

Listen, I've given you a really simple and easy to make recipe for Spaetzle, but each to his own! Perhaps you might want to try a mix the first time you make the Spaetzle and then try my recipe the next time.



OR, You may opt for a Dumplings Cookbook 

Dumplings are different worldwide -- you should know that by now!

You'll want to check out more Eastern European cuisine! 

Ah, Polish Pierogi is actually big dumplings!!!

A Case Study of Hungarian Spaetzle

Hungarian Spaetzle -- This lens was published at 9am EST on 8/31/09 

Ranked #2,073 in Food, #46,019 overall

I am using this lens on Hungarian Spaetzle as a "case study" lens to document how this lens is promoted and to chart lens stats. This screen capture, taken before Noon on 8/31/09, shows that the lens has a 5-star rating, been rated by 5 people, and is Ranked #2,073 in Food, #46,019 overall.

A bug: This lens was originally created on 8/28/09, but was held until 8/31/09 to publish. It got caught in the bug that showed the lens in red WIP on the dashboard. The bug assigned lensranks of Aug 29: 792,181 and Aug 30: 794,020 with a two day Average Lensrank for Aug of: 793,101. A bug report was issued to ask that this lensrank be adjusted to 0.

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8/31/09: Ranked #2,073 in Food, #46,019 overall -- 5 ratings - 5 stars
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About Hungarian Little Dumplings Maker and Lover JaguarJulie 

Lensmaster JaguarJulie has been a member since March 21 2006, has rated 6,425 lenses, favorited 520, and has created 617 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "Stuffed Cabbage *". See all my lenses

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