Using My Noodle

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Lucie taught a new noodle to me today. This one is new to me anyway....

This noodle has different names in Germany- Schupfnudeln (rolled noodle), Fingernudeln (finger noodle), or Bubespitzle (boy's penis).

....And here I was thinking it looked like a pulled American football.

We made this potato noodle with Yukon Gold potatoes, for extra flavour. You can use any starchy potato. Lucie boiled the potatoes the night before, about 3 lbs. give or take, after peeling and removing bad spots. We used Lucie's spaetzle press this time and pressed those potatoes into a big bowl. To the potatoes we added 2 large eggs. I am guessing she poured about 1 1/2 of the 2 cups of flour I brought to her. Salt the dough to taste. Add nutmeg to taste. Mix this all together into a smooth dough, like pictured.



Then, we rolled and portioned the dough, so we could roll the noodles into the right shape. The board we worked on was well-floured. They are rolled between two palms that are also well-floured. When I did it I just rolled whilst turning my top hand from side to side to make the tapered-end shape. Lucie said when she was younger and cooking with her grandmother, that Grandmother would be very strict about the quality of the shape. Sometimes, Grandmother would hand those noodles back to be done right!

Next the noodles are boiled (not a rolling boil like spaetzle) in salt water until they rise to the top. Strain out of the water and hold on a platter.

They should look like this now:



One way the noodles are delicious is toasted in butter over sauerkraut.



This is a sauerkraut Lucie gave to me. She found some at a local store. It is from her area in Germany.



Caramelised onions with brown sugar. Then add the sauerkraut (rinsed and drained), white wine, juniper berries, a bay leaf, cloves and diced apple. This is cooked down until golden in the pan. I put bacon (pancetta) lardons in mine.

I used a half of a Granny Smith apple and half of the new variety called Opal.





I've been getting good use out of that sauerkraut. I even made a Sauerkraut Dark Chocolate Cake. These turn out very moist and with a added kick in flavour.