The spatzle recipe: how to make homemade this special Tyrolese spinach dumplings

I wake up.
I get up.

I get a glance at myself in the mirror and, after a first initial fright, given by the image I saw reflected in it – I found strange that it doesn’t coincide completely with what Miranda Kerr’s mirror reflects to her when she wakes up – I’ve made my peace with it.
My fault. Surely she had not been lost on Netflix until 3.30 a.m.

Who has fallen into the net of this

• Gossip Girl set in the times of Maria Stuart,
• with a plot of the worst Harmony book that my grandma Franca hides under the cushions of the kitchen chairs,
• with the soundtrack of The Lumineers;
• with Renaissance costumes in a pop-porn key

new Netflix series called Reign knows what I’m talking about

And then I told myself,
caught by one of those epiphanies that catch you a few more times in the course of your happy life,
enlightened like Siddartha under the Bodhi tree:

Just wanted to remind you, that sometimes SUCCESS is better measured in smiles received, giggles heard, and hands held, than in dollars earned, deadlines met, and kilos shed.

And, you know, since I started repeating this every morning to myself in the mirror, life is even more beautiful.

A little ‘as when you decide to try to make homemade the spatzle this special Tyrolese spinach dumplings called spatzle instead of taking a pack from the supermarket fridge. And this recipe made them perfect on the first try.

Spinach Spatzle – the recipe

INGREDIENTS (serves 6 – 4 if hungry)

For the homemade spatzle

• 400 g of fresh spinach
• 250 g of all purpose flour
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• Salt to taste

For the sauce with speck

• 120 g of sliced speck
• 200 g of cream
• Extra virgin olive oil q.s.
• Salt and black pepper q.s.
• Grated smoked ricotta

While you’re tasting listen: Le mie mille me, Levante

METHOD

For the spatzle:

1. Wash the fresh spinach thoroughly (ground everywhere). Cook for 3 minutes in boiling salted water.
   Drain the spinach and let it slightly cool in a colander.
2. Using the back of a spoon, gently press the spinach to lose some of the remaining cooking water. Do not squeeze them excessively, you’ll need the residual water to give the right consistency to the dough – as well as improve the flavor.
3. Mix together the spinach with the eggs, the nutmeg and 3 pinches of salt. You’ll have to get a sort of green batter.
4. Add the flour and mix with a spoon until there are no more lumps.
5. Place the appropriate tool on top of the pot of boiling salted water to cook the spatzle. Pour the mixture into spoonfuls in the “grater” compartment and scroll back and forth. You will see large drops of dough fall into the water that will take on the typical shape of the Tyrolese spinach dumplings.
6. Drain them with a skimmer as they emerge on the surface of the water and let them drain the cooking water into a colander. Do not be afraid, they’ll not stick to each other. In this way you can finish to boil all the spatzle and then sautè them together in the sauce.

For the sauce:

1. Cut the slices of speck into strips.
2. Sauté them in a non-stick and large saucepan with plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
3. Once lightly browned, let yourself get inebriated by this amazing Tyrolese smell and turn off the heat. Add the cream and mix.
4. You just have to heat the sauce as soon as you have finishto boil the spinach spatzle and sautè together for a few moments. Finish with an abundant grated smoked ricotta.