in the kitchen with: molly hatch`s spaetzle | Design*Sponge

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by Kristina Gill
IN THE KITCHEN WITH: MOLLY
HATCH’S SPAETZLE
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I fell in love with Molly Hatch‘s work the first time I saw it on Design*Sponge. I was
mesmerized by the blue and white of the images I saw, and as I reviewed her work, I was also
captivated by the floral motifs. I can’t think of a better combination than good food on nice
serving pieces, so asking Molly for a few of her favorite recipes for In the Kitchen With was a
natural. This week she shares her recipe for spaetzle, a fresh dumpling made with eggs, milk
and flour. Though spaetzle are usually tossed with butter and herbs and eaten alongside a
meat dish as you would rice or potatoes, Molly and I played around together with sauce ideas
to use the spaetzle more like pasta and came up with spaetzle with butternut squash,
shallots and cranberries. We hope you like it! — Kristina
About Molly: As the daughter of a painter and a dairy farmer, Molly’s childhood was divided
between physical labor, play and creating her own art. Her interest in utilitarian ceramics is
grounded in her family’s history of using their hands to make objects for use and
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contemplation. She pursued a formal art school education, earning a BFA from the Museum
School in Boston and an MFA in 2008 from the University of Colorado. Her latest work
explores the relationship between high and low, an intersection of current tattoo and graffiti
culture and historic patterning and design. Molly works from her home studio in
Northampton, Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She also
teaches as an adjunct professor in ceramics at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke.
She has been collaborating on an exciting commercial design project incorporating some of
these ideas that will be released later this year.
CLICK HERE for the full recipe after the jump!
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Spaetzle
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 fresh farm eggs (good eggs = good spaetzle!)
1/2 cup whole milk
butter or olive oil to keep spaetzle from sticking
Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together to a “sticky
mustard” consistency — a bit thicker than pancake batter.
2. Let sit for about one hour at room temperature.
3. Drop a small amount into salted boiling water. You know they are done when they float to
the surface. Skim out of the water with a slotted spoon. Keep warm in an oven in a covered
casserole dish with butter or olive oil to keep the pieces from sticking together.
Note from Molly
There are many ways to “drop” the spaetzle into the water for cooking. Claudia (the nanny
who I received this recipe from) would shape a sort of log out of a portion of the bowl of
dough about 5″ long and 1–2″ wide on a small cutting board. She lovingly cut small
amounts of the batter into the salt water. The pieces were about 1″ long and about 1/4″ thick.
If you cut them evenly, they will cook evenly!
Note from Kristina
For these photos, I made the dough a little stiffer to ensure that I could make the spaetzle into
more regular sizes. Whether your batter is more or less stiff, dipping your knife in the boiling
water between each cut helps move each portion off the cutting board and keeps it from
sticking to your knife if you are using one. No matter what you do, the spaetzle will always
be quite “rustic” looking because they are dropped into boiling water. They will always taste
good, despite their irregular appearance!
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Butternut Squash, Shallot and Cranberry Sauce
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the baking tray
1.5 pounds butternut squash, skin on
10–12 shallots, papery outer skin removed, cut into quarters
1 handful dried cranberries
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like it really spicy)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Parmesan if you wish
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper,
and lightly oil the paper/foil. Slice the butternut squash into slices about 1″ thick. Place on the
tray. Sprinkle each slice with salt and a little olive oil. Bake in the oven until the slices are well
browned and easily pierced with a fork.
2. While the squash bakes, add three tablespoons of olive oil and the shallots to a large frying
pan. Cook on medium-low heat until the shallots start to change color. Reduce heat to low and
continue to cook until they turn golden. Add the cranberries and red pepper flakes and
continue to cook on low heat until the cranberries soften, about another 10 minutes. Increase
continue to cook on low heat until the cranberries soften, about another 10 minutes. Increase
the heat to medium and add 1/4 cup vegetable broth, stirring until it thickens. Remove from
heat and cover.
3. Once the squash is baked, remove it from the oven, remove the skin and cut into cubes. Add
to the pan with the remaining 1/4 cup vegetable broth and stir on medium heat until the
squash is evenly coated.
4. Mix the squash/shallot/cranberry mixture with the spaetzle, making sure to coat the
spaetzle well. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan if you wish. You might also try adding bacon
in with the shallots!
Photography by Kristina Gill: rough linen napkin by Axlings (available through Karin
Eriksson); cutting board by Andrea Brugi; salt dish (steel) by mud australia; knife from
merci; small oak board by Andrea Brugi; navy blue bowl by Christiane Perrochon; crimson
striped towel by Zara Home; platter by Molly Hatch (available through Lola Home);
crimson napkin by Fog Linen; all other props eBay/fleamarket finds.
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Why Molly Chose This Recipe
As a little girl, we never had a special occasion without fresh spaetzle. As a family, we were
introduced to spaetzle by our Swiss nanny, Claudia, and we loved them so much that they
became a favorite. Spaetzle-making was reserved for special meals mostly due to the laborintensive process of cutting each little piece of batter by hand. Many years later, my mother
was gifted a “spaetzle maker” which is essentially a mandolin for making spaetzle.
Something about the convenience of this process just killed the yumminess of the hand-cut
spaetzle Claudia and my mother made by hand. As I write this, I find myself wondering if
Claudia had a spaetzle maker at home in Switzerland and was just making do with what we
had in our American kitchen . . . hmmm . . . to be answered by Swiss D*S readers . . .
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31 COMMENTS
This looks and sounds amazing — all of my favorite flavors are in that sauce!! I think I’ll
have to try making a vegan version over the long weekend. Thanks, Molly!
p.s. If anyone else is looking for a vegan spaetzle recipe, this one is quite good:
http://dieflaschenpost.blogspot.com/2007/04/sptzle.html
ANNA @ D16
February 18th, 2011
this looks insanely good (and I just ate!)
ANNAWITHLOVE
February 18th, 2011
From what I understand, spaetzle originates from southern Germany. I never had it when I
lived in the French speaking part of Switzerland (but you could order it at some
restaurants). I would imagine it’s a bit more widespread in the German speaking part of the
country. When I was in Stuttgart, I stayed with a girl who made handmade spaetzle just
like this without any special tools. We ate it with a very plain sauce which was tasty, but
this version sounds absolutely delicious!
RACHEL
February 18th, 2011
MOLLY this looks AMAZING ! next time you’re in town you’re cooking this for the clay
posse !
RAE DUNN
February 18th, 2011
Mmm this looks delicious! I used to love having Spaetzle when I lived in Germany. Usually
served with butter, cheese and tons of cracked pepper. This looks equally as good. Thanks
for sharing!
Brandon
BRANDON
February 18th, 2011
Mmmm. I ate spaetzle almost four years ago in Germany and thought it was the ultimate
comfort food. It came in individual little cast iron skillets, and was sooo good. Then at
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comfort food. It came in individual little cast iron skillets, and was sooo good. Then at
lunchtime today I was in Borough Market (London) and saw it for sale at a stall! I will go
back and get some soon and try to recreate it myself. This article is a further inspiration!
RBJANEITE
February 18th, 2011
sounds delicious! I didn’t realize spaetzle was that easy — can’t wait to try this recipe.
MORGAN P.
February 18th, 2011
You are ON Rae! I cant wait for another Berkeley visit. Now that the baby is a toddler I will
have more energy for gourmet cook-a-thons!
MOLLY
February 18th, 2011
interesting, i’ve never had spaetzle this way. i’m a chef and at my work after it’s been boiled
and then shocked in an ice bath, we saute it with butter and oil so that it’s crispy. so
amazing that way!
STEPHANIE
February 18th, 2011
STYLE ICON:
MASSIMO VIGNELLI
I love how everything is so beautifully laid out and the pieces she chose to serve on. That
blue floral plate is to die for!!
NO COAST DESIGN
February 18th, 2011
I love spaetzle! It is one of my favorite dishes. Thanks for sharing this it sounds so easy.
Also another way to ‘drop’ the spaeltzle is to push it through a colander, my grandmother’s
neighbor who was from Germany taught me to make it that way.
CAT HORN
February 18th, 2011
Funny to see Spätzle shown on Design Sponge. I am from southern Germany (Schwaben)
and our Spätzle do look different (thinner) and this is how you do it (even without special
equiment)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6Ga9hMm4Y
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Takes a lot of practice, but well worth the effort!
SANNE
February 19th, 2011
i cant wait to try this! I think I will play with the recipe a bit for my boys and add some
sweet potato and raisins!
COTTAGEOFSTONE
February 19th, 2011
Yum-yum. I love spaetzle! I also love having my spaetzle maker — it lets me have spaetzle
more often! Isn’t it funny that some pastas are especially good just for their shape, like orzo
and Israeli couscous? Now I want to try this as a dessert pudding, maybe with almonds and
raisins, a la marocaine! Thanks for your great idea.
TINABOBINA99
February 19th, 2011
@Sanne- I know you’re right, “normal” spaetzle do look quite different, and wholly
unappealing for photography sake…
KRISTINA
February 19th, 2011
I love spaetzle! I’ve never thought to prepare it this way (perhaps it’s the Swiss style) but I
am totally going to give it a shot.
KIMBERLEY
February 19th, 2011
looks really delicious ! I would give it a try.
SEEMA
February 19th, 2011
What a delicious take on spaetzle!
SOPHIE DELPHIS
February 19th, 2011
Thank you! My dad learned to make spaetzle from his Slovak mother (known as haluski)
and I treasure the time I finally had him teach me how. No milk, just water, but the
technique was exactly the same. Dad made them for stewed chicken. Thank you for
bringing all of this back to me!
LIZZIE
February 19th, 2011
@kristina: You’re totally right. I never thought about that. I guess they would look pretty
unappetizing. But your picture makes them look sooo delicious.
SANNE
February 20th, 2011
@Sanne – Thanks for understanding, and sorry for representing them in a way you didn’t
quite recognize!! Believe me, I tried it the regular way, and Grace and I decided
‘Hmmmm… let’s see how else we can tackle this”!
KRISTINA
February 20th, 2011
Spaetzle is gorgeous, thanks for highlighting this wondeful comfort food.Lovely pictures
and verry pretty girl- is this Molly ??You’re pretty slim with your love for Spaetzle. Molly !!!
:-))
MODERN COUNTRY LADY
February 20th, 2011
I love spaetzle! Just made it this past week, pre-this recipe. And I love the spaetzle-maker
my husband and I were gifted for our wedding, basically a spaetzle press.
BRIDGET
February 20th, 2011
i just made this recipe, and it was fantastic! it took me about two hours, but it was very
good.
i just dropped dollops into the boiling water and it was fantastic. i just watched that
youtube video that @sanne linked to and i think i’ll try it that way next. i had forgotten how
much i loved spatzel when i visited germany!
ADRIENNE
February 20th, 2011
I’ve been looking forward to making this recipe since you posted it. We made it last night
and it was very simple. I used frozen cubed butternut squash and didn’t use any stock. I
also fried up some proscuitto and panfried the spatzel with it. It’s simply divine! Thanks for
posting.
PAMELA L.
February 25th, 2011
just made this, it’s even better than it sounds! i ended up need almost double the milk to
make the dough a workable consistency though. next time, i’ll omit 1/2 c. of flour and add it
in as needed. can’t wait to eat the leftovers tommorrow!
STEPHK
March 3rd, 2011
@stephk – Let me know how changing the proportions works out. I made this recipe twice
and found that stiffening up the batter by adding flour (for photography sake) made a
tougher spaetzle ‘noodle’, and I actually preferred the softer melt in your mouth version
that Molly’s recipe renders. I would be curious to know which of your versions you prefer!
KRISTINA GILL
March 7th, 2011
Beautiful pictures and very creative recipe!
I am from Southern Germany, but live in the Bay Area, so whenever my husband and I get
homesick, I make ‘Käsespätzle’ – Spätzle with lost of Emmenthal cheese and caramelized
homesick, I make ‘Käsespätzle’ – Spätzle with lost of Emmenthal cheese and caramelized
onions.
BTW: the traditional Spätzle recipe has no milk in it, just water, flour and eggs. But there is
a similar dish with milk and it is eaten in a sweet version. It’s called ‘Kaiserschmarrn’ –
however, the dough is not boiled but fried. So your recipe is probably a crossover between
those two dishes. Sounds (and looks) wonderful, I guess I’ll have to try it sometime.
March 15th, 2011
ALEXA
I am German and I make Spaetzle aboute very other week with alot of cheese and
caramlized onions. I am from Bavaria and that is a major food group there. Yours look so
delicious, I have to try your receipe.
March 20th, 2011
HANNI
Made it with acorn squash and wine watered down (no butternut or broth in the kitchen)
and it was delicious. Can’t wait to make other recipes with spaetzle, especially the
caramelized onions and Emmenthal cheese. : )
November 1st, 2011
LE
@Kristina I’ve made this recipe a dozen or so times since I made that comment above, and
I just realized you responded to me! figured out the problem: I use a spaetzle maker, so the
“dough” needs to be be more like “batter to work”! Thanks, almost 3 years too late :)
January 16th, 2014
STEPHK
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