Spätzle is one of the most famous dishes from the German-speaking part of the world – and the Swiss twist on it is, of course, to serve them with lots and lots of cheese! – and fried up onions…there really is nothing more comforting in the world for me. And even if the cold days of winter are over, but wait for the next rainy day and cook up this cozy batch of cheesy goodness – and I promise you this much: you will be looking forward to the next rain forecast ever after.

The following recipe is an easy, homemade version that serves up 6-8 people, so here we go:

Ingredients:

500 g flour
1½ tsp salt
5 eggs
2,5 dl milk
2 tablespoons of oil
500 g cheese (Gruyère or fondue mixture)
4-5 big onions, chopped into rings/half rings
butter

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix flour and salt and form a little mound. Mix the eggs with the water and the oil, pour into the bowl and mix everything together.
Using a wooden spatula, “beat” the dough until bubbles appear – if you have a handmixer, you can also use that, just mix on a low setting for a couple of minutes. To test for the bubbles, pull the dough apart with a spatula, if airbubbles appear, you are good.
Cover and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
In a saucepan, bring water to the boil and add salt. With a spatula, pass small portions of the dough through a sieve into the boiling water.
Let the Spätzli simmer for 2-3 minutes until they rise to the surface of the water. Lift them out laddle and let the water drip off well. Place the Spätzli a preheated oven dish and add some of the cheese on top. Repeat the process until all the Spätzli are made. In the meantime and while the Spätzli are simmering, keep the dish in the oven at 80°C.

For the crispy onion rings, dust the onions with flour and then fry them in plenty of butter until crispy.

Serve a big scoop of the cheesy Spätzli, top with crispy onions – and enjoy!

Tip: Leftover spaetzle can be frozen in portions and can be easily warmed up in the microwave.