Spätzli Recipe

A few weeks ago, I was in Switzerland.  It was a fun time and all, so I figured I will put up some traditional Swiss recipes for the next couple of posts (if I can think of that many).  To be brutally honest though, I think that Spätzli isn't really a Swiss recipe, I think it is a German/Bavarian dish, but hey, the swiss like it too (my Swiss wife loves it so it is now Swiss today).  Anyway, what the hell is spätzli you ask?  Well, it is like a distance cousin of a noodle.  It is like a little-flour-ball-dumpling-noodly-thing that can be used to replace a traditional noodle in just about any dish.  They are quite tasty and go down really easy.  Anyone that attended our wedding would have had spätzli as our main course.  To make them, you will need a spätzli making machine, or some creativitiy.  Here are a couple of spätzli makers.  Typically you can find them in any fine kitchen gadget store, or if you can't find one, you can use a colander or something with lots of semi small holes.

or

So this is what you need, and it is really simple.

2 cups of flour
1 tbsp salt
150ml water
3 eggs

Whisk the flour and salt together to get out any lumps.  Add the water and the eggs and stir with a wooden spoon.  Using the spätzli machine, begin to add the dough into a pot full of boiling, salted water,  forcing the dough through the holes.  You will know that they are down when they start to float.  It only takes a minute or so, but don't worry, that can't really over cook.  When they are done, take them out.  You can either serve right away, or, as we like it, toss them in a frying pan with some butter to crisp them up a little.  Serve them with your favourite sauce or just plain.

Alternatives:

-Make a double batch and freeze half.  They are easy to make, but they also make a helluva mess

-Substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour

I think that is it.

Until next time,
-d

Famous Seafood Chowder Recipe

So, I was going to save this one until the weather got a little colder, but since I promised my sister Sheila that I would put up the recipe here, I have to swap my timing up a little. I call it a my famous chowder recipe because those who seem to like seafood seem to really like it. I have been working on perfecting it now for quite some time, and I think that I finally nailed down a good and very flavourful recipe. (By the way, I will blog about my trip another time, but I needed to get this up before some fish starts to expire). So here is what you will need:

500 grams of mixed seafood (I use scallops, shrimp, haddock) and another 500 grams of Salmon (because I really like salmon)
1 can of lobster meat
4 strips of raw bacon, cut into pieces
2 tbsp of butter
3 small shallots, diced
3 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, cut into circles
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 large potatoes (I like to use one red potato for some colour), cubed
1/2 can of corn
1 bottle of clam juice
650ml of 18% cream
1 can of evaporated milk
A couple of handfuls of fresh parsley
many pinches of sea salt
pepper
couple of pinches of sage and thyme
generous amount of basil and a quasi generous amount of oregano

In a heavy bottom pot at medium heat, add bacon and the butter. The bacon fat adds a great flavour to the chowder. Cook until the bacon starts to change colour and then add the shallots and garlic and saute until the onions start to get translucent. Add the potatoes and the carrots to start to cook them for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the celery and corn and then add the bottle of clam juice. Cook for another 4 minutes to reduce a little bit over medium low heat. Add the cream and the evaporated milk and all of the seasonings with the exception of the parsley. Bring to a low boil. Add the fish but not the Lobster meat. Cook covered over medium low heat, just to the point of where the broth is slightly boiling, stirring occasionally for a couple of hours. At the end, just before you are ready to serve, add the lobster and the parley. The broth will thicken up from the starch in the potatoes. Serve with a nice crusty loaf or garlic bread.

The longer you are able to cook the soup, the better it will taste. By poaching the fish in the broth, all of the natural fats get dissipated into the stock, making a richer flavour. Don't worry about over cooking the fish, it is slowly cooking and I have never had it go tough on me, just remember to only put in the lobster at the end. That will get tough.

Alternatives:

- Instead of using the evaporated milk, put in a whole litre of cream

-Add any other fish you like (mussels, clams, crab, oysters) the more the merrier and a bolder flavour

-To go all healthy, substitute all the cream with evaporated milk.

Again, I will put up a post about the trip another time, and maybe if I want to go all touristy, I will even put up some pictures.

Until next time,
-d