Austria - Käsespätzle

An Austrian take on macaroni and cheese!

Aneri's note: Finally, a country I have been to! Since this blog is part travel part food, please allow me to indulge in a travel story of mine circa 2006! I was on a 10-day tour of Western Europe through Contiki travel, back in the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I went white water rafting for the very first time through the Austrian Tyrol (mountain region). The water however, was glacial melt and it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit! I was freezing, and our raft guide was mean and made us jump into the water to practice saving people, and as soon as I was in I started screaming, "pull me out! pull me out!" The guide also wanted to flip the raft over, but I protested so much that he finally relented. But it was really pretty, especially the green mountains surrounding blue blue water we were in. I also just loved how all the homes have balconies with flower pots like pictured below. Here's a little collage of photos I took in Austria, plus a photo of me as a college student with a group of wayward international travelers!

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Käsespätzle

Difficulty level (1-10): 10

Käsespätzle is similar to the American Mac and cheese, but is distinct for its noodles and specific alpine cheese and onions.

Ingredients:

Butter - 2 TB

Onion - 1, sliced into half moons

Eggs - 4

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Semolina flour - 3/4 cup

Nutmeg - 3/4 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Emmental, gruyere, swiss - 5-7 oz grated

Chives

Milk - spoonfuls

Recipe:

1. Combine flour, eggs, nutmeg and salt. Blend and add spoonfuls of milk if necessary. Set aside and let rest for 20-30 minutes

2. Heat 1 TB of butter in a frying pan over low to medium heat, add onions, and let them turn golden.

3. Bring large pot of water to a boil, add salt, reduce heat to simmer. Press dough through a colander or cheese grater (creates a macaroni shape). Add noodles to the pot and cook until they float back to the surface. Tip: I didn’t have the patience for this so just pulled little pieces of the dough and dropped them in the water.

4. Drain the water, add 1 TB of butter to the pot. Shake to evenly distribute the butter and add the grated cheese.

5. Add onions and chives on top and serve!

This recipe was influenced by The Guardian and Austria Tourism.

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