Vegan Cheese Spaetzle

Spaetzle are at home in the southern part of Germany, Swabia to be exact. I was once told to never call spaetzle ‘noodles’ when a Swabian is present. Since I don’t know what would happen if I did, and I assume that one or the other Swabian might read this, I will refrain from calling them noodles. But what exactly are they? Originally, they are made from flour, eggs, water, and salt with various ingredient ratios, each claiming to be the best. Depending on the ratio, you either have a dough or batter that you scrape or press into simmering water. The results are, depending on the method you use, little buttons or strings that you can serve as a side dish, with a gravy, or as cheese spaetzle. I did a little research on spaetzle and their history and found out that, in the old days, the ancient grain spelt was mostly used instead of regular wheat flour. In this recipe, I wanted to bring the old spelt version back to life while adding my vegan twist at the same time. The result couldn’t have been any better.

Remember to soak cashews for at least 4 hours!

You need:

• a spaetzle maker (lid or slider) or colander with big holes
• high speed blender for vegan cheese (or see notes **)

Ingredients: (for about 6 servings)

For spaetzle batter:

• 1 lb (450 g) whole grain spelt flour
• 1 Tbsp psyllium seed husks
• 1½ tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 2½ cups (scant 600 ml) water

For cooking:

• about 4 quarts (4 liters) water
• 2 tsp sea salt

• a large bowl with ice water to cool the spaetzle

For onion topping:

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large sweet onions, sliced into half-rings
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt

For vegan cheese:

• 2 generous cups (280 g) raw, unsalted cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight, drained
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 8 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 4 tsp psyllium seed husks
• 2 cloves garlic

Sprinkle with:

• minced parsley to taste

Preparation:

Combine flour, psyllium seed husks, salt, and turmeric in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the water and use a wooden spoon to stir, then beat the batter until most of the lumps are gone.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer and set a large bowl with ice water aside.

Place spaetzle maker over the pot of simmering water and scrape about 1/3 of the batter through the holes into the water. (see notes*)

Simmer until spaetzle float on the surface, then use a skimmer or slotted spoon to transfer them to the pot of ice water. Proceed the same way with the remaining batches.

Strain the spaetzle right away and set aside.

Slice onions and preheat a large, preferably oven safe, pan or skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add Celtic sea salt and sauté for another 5 – 10 minutes until nicely browned.

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).

Transfer onions to a different dish and use the pan to sauté spaetzle over medium heat until some are golden brown. This takes about 5 – 10 minutes. If necessary, add more olive oil.

Place all the vegan cheese ingredients into your high speed blender and blend at highest setting for about 2½ minutes. Because of the psyllium seed husks, the texture will be stringy and harder to process, so you will need your tamper to push the ‘cheese’ toward  the blades.

If your pan is oven safe, scrape cheese evenly over the spaetzle and top everything with browned onions. If you don’t have an oven safe pan, layer everything in the same order in a casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, transfer to plates, and sprinkle with minced parsley. Enjoy!

Notes: 

• Spelt is not gluten free but, as with einkorn, many gluten sensitive people, myself included, find that it doesn’t cause them any digestive issues.
• *) As mentioned before, there are different kinds of spaetzle makers. I use a lid-like tool which I find very easy to work with. If you use a slider, just fill the box on top and slide it back and forth. The result will be the same.
• If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can use your favorite kind of store-bought vegan cheese crumbles instead. Taste and texture will be different though.
• Cheese spaetzle are wonderful with a nice bowl of colorful mixed salad.