Fresh Cheese Spaetzle

• Recipe by Grace Parisi

F&W's Grace Parisi has had to perfect her spaetzle-making skills to prevent her German au pair from becoming homesick. Germans typically use quark when making spaetzle, but Parisi's au pair told her that the type available in the United States isn't curdy enough. So Parisi uses small-curd cottage cheese in the spaetzle and makes the chive sauce with tangy quark. Adding 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar instead of the chives turns this savory dish into a delicious dessert.

Ingredients

1. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
2. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
3. 1/4 cup small-curd cottage cheese
4. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 1 cup all-purpose flour
6. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7. 1/2 cup quark
8. 1 1/2 tablespoons snipped chives

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir in the flour until a smooth, thick, sticky batter forms.
2. Spoon the batter into a colander with 1/4-inch holes. Set or hold the colander 1 inch above the boiling water and scrape the batter through the holes, using a rubber spatula. Stir the spaetzle once or twice to separate them. As soon as they rise to the surface, use a slotted spoon to transfer the spaetzle to a clean colander and drain well.
3. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add the boiled spaetzle and cook them over moderately high heat, stirring and shaking the skillet occasionally, until the spaetzle are browned and crisp in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the quark and snipped chives, reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, stirring, until the sauce is creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Season the spaetzle with salt and pepper and serve right away.

Make Ahead

The boiled cheese spaetzle can be covered in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours before sautéing.

Notes

INSTEAD OF COTTAGE CHEESE Farmer cheese.
INSTEAD OF QUARK Crème fraîche, fromage blanc, lebneh or mascarpone.