Liechtenstein: Little Egg Dumplings & Cheese (Käsknöpfle)

First, often in this article, I'm using the term "German" in the broader sense; that is, in the cultural and linguistic sense, rather than in the narrower nationality sense; "citizens of Germany."

This is a dish using "Spätzle," the little noodle/dumpling/pasta bits, almost always served in some manner in German-themed restaurants in the U.S., and, I'm sure, elsewhere. That term too is the general term in German, which is understood by German speakers in all areas of Europe, as "Spätzle" is a famous part of German cuisine, coming from the southwestern German region of "Schwaben" (Swabia). It literally means "little sparrows" (Spatz=sparrow, see Word History, below) in the dialect of that southwestern region of Germany (the dialect is called Schwäbisch *=Swabian in English). In other German areas in the south (German in the broad sense), including Liechtenstein, instead of "Spätzle," the term used is, "Knöpfle" (literally, 'little buttons'). "Käs" is the close relative to English "cheese," which is what it means. The dumplings, whether you called them "Knöpfle" or "Spätzle," are made the same, with only slight variations, as some people use milk instead of water, and others, the total purists, believe they should only be made from eggs, flour and salt. I looked at about 10 recipes from Liechtenstein, and all but one used water (the other used milk), so I made mine with water (I usually make mine the "purist" way). Germans (broad sense) often have special equipment at home to make the Spätzle, which is used to force the dough through, and it drops into the hot water, but you can just use a large spoon and drizzle the dough/batter into the water. Understand, this general recipe is not exclusive to Liechtenstein, but it is sort of the national dish of that little country,** so I chose to use Liechtenstein.

You can certainly add more cheese, if you'd like, and a mix of two or more cheeses is common in Liechtenstein, with one always being "(Swiss) Emmentaler" (some say, "Emmental"), which is what most Americans think of as "Swiss cheese," with the off white color and holes in the cheese. "Appenzeller," another cheese from the German area of neighboring Switzerland, is also often used, as well as, "Gruyère," another cheese from Switzerland, but it's from an area of majority French-speaking population, although with a substantial German-speaking minority. "Fontina," a northern Italian cheese, is also used by some.   

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water
(optional) a good pinch of nutmeg
simmering salted water
1/2 cup Swiss cheese (Emmentaler), shredded
1/2 cup Gruyere, shredded
1 onion, halved, then thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter (or you can use vegetable or canola oil)

In a pan large enough to hold 4 to 5 inches of water (also wide; you want the dumplings to have plenty of room to "swim"), add a couple of tablespoons of salt, and bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the water simmers nicely. In a bowl, mix the flour, eggs, salt and water. Germans (broad sense) make the batter/dough various thicknesses. With this recipe, I made it somewhat "fluid," where there was resistance when stirring with a spoon, and where the thick batter could be drizzled into the simmering water. If you make it even thicker, more of a true dough, you can cut off pieces. The batter will almost instantly solidify in the hot water, and the dumplings will float to the top when done (Germans often say "swim"), and you can use a slotted spoon to take them from the water, before you add another batch. Be sure to stir the bottom of the pot, as sometimes one or two might stick to the bottom. Have your cheeses shredded and in a separate skillet, melt the butter or heat the oil, then saute the onion slices until browned. When all of the dumplings are cooked, you can microwave them briefly to reheat them, then stir in the cheese until it melts (some mix in the cheese and bake the dish until the cheese melts). Add some browned onions to the top of each serving. Applesauce is commonly served along with the dish.

* Swabian is a dialect that is part of the overall German dialect "Alemannic," which is also spoken in Switzerland, Alsace, extreme western Austria (not in the rest of Austria) and Liechtenstein, as well as some small parts of northern Italy.

** For those with some knowledge of German history, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are both representative of the German states of the old German Empire, when Germany had, at one time or another, anywhere from hundreds, to a couple of thousand of generally such small states, usually led by princes or dukes.

With a little dish of applesauce on the side.

WORD HISTORY:
Sparrow-This word for a common bird goes back to Indo European "sper," with "perhaps" the underlying notion being, "twitching or fidgeting animal/bird," as many birds twitch. This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sparwon," which meant "sparrow." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "spearwa," with the same meaning. This then became "sparowe," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Sperling," ^ Low German Saxon "Sparling," Dutch "spreeuw" (meaning: "starling"), Danish and Norwegian "spurv," Icelandic " 'spör'fugl," Swedish "sparv."  

^ The origin of "Spatz," another German word, mainly southern, but generally known everywhere, for "sparrow," is not entirely clear. The Old High German form of the word for sparrow, was "sparo."  The idea is, this became "spar" in the dialects in what is now southwestern Germany. This then came to be pronounced as if, "spartz," but then lost the "r."