Ever since Jesse & I had the braised rabbit spaetzle at The Alembic, we've been craving its luscious dumplingness. Spaetzle, or spatzle with an umlaut over the a (which I can't seem to type here), is a tiny dumpling-like egg noodle. They're surprisingly easy to make, but are usually made with a spaetzle maker, and are named for their characteristic shape (spaetzle means "small sparrow"). But we just used a ricer, and got great results.
There are a lot of recipes floating around the internet; we used this one, adding fresh thyme & sage to the basic batter. (Jesse said he'd add another teaspoon of salt to the batter next time.) We "riced" the batter directly into boiling water, then scooped them out with a slotted spoon into a buttered bowl (they cook pretty instantly-- they'll float to the top when they're done). Before serving, we heated some butter, tossed in 1 large shallot, minced, then added the spaetzle and cooked, stirring, until the pieces were slightly browned. This goes really well with parmesan. Or braised rabbit. It was a good match for the pork, too.
The pork chops were inspired by this recipe. I browned the pork chops in some of their own fat that I'd trimmed off, rendered with the heating oil & butter, then removed before adding the meat. I also seasoned the flour with cayenne, onion powder, and some other spices I had lying around... they were very good but I think brined are better. Also, this might be the most unkosher recipe I've ever seen.
There are a lot of recipes floating around the internet; we used this one, adding fresh thyme & sage to the basic batter. (Jesse said he'd add another teaspoon of salt to the batter next time.) We "riced" the batter directly into boiling water, then scooped them out with a slotted spoon into a buttered bowl (they cook pretty instantly-- they'll float to the top when they're done). Before serving, we heated some butter, tossed in 1 large shallot, minced, then added the spaetzle and cooked, stirring, until the pieces were slightly browned. This goes really well with parmesan. Or braised rabbit. It was a good match for the pork, too.
The pork chops were inspired by this recipe. I browned the pork chops in some of their own fat that I'd trimmed off, rendered with the heating oil & butter, then removed before adding the meat. I also seasoned the flour with cayenne, onion powder, and some other spices I had lying around... they were very good but I think brined are better. Also, this might be the most unkosher recipe I've ever seen.
