Recipe Cheese Spätzle

All over the world, German cuisine is associated with traditional Bavarian dishes. Thinking about German food, who would not mention pretzels, sauerkraut, dumplings and of course, the home-made Spätzle noodles!

There is practically no more delicious proof of how firmly the Austrian cuisine is rooted in the heart of Europe than one of the most typical of Viennese dishes: boiled veal, or Tafelspitz. Good-quality beef, a few vegetables, aromatic spices and plenty of water to cook in – these are the vital ingredients. The same ingredients, though, also come together when the French are creating their “pot-au-feu”, or the Italians their “bollito misto”. In the case of the latter, veal and chicken meat or tongue might be added, but then some small differences should remain despite us all being good Europeans together.

Oil cakes have a long tradition especially in Mediterranean countries where olive oil is abundant. In Austria sunflower or rape oil is used instead and candied bitter orange peel, aranzini, and pine kernels are also added.

Culinary history has always been notable for successfully overcoming political boundaries. For instance, the history of the origins of the Tirol dumpling is in no way restricted to today’s Tirol. Although first recorded in a Tirol cookery book in the 16th century, spicy dumplings had been known fully 400 years earlier in areas of what is now Italy. This is demonstrated by a “fresco with dumplings” in the castle chapel in Hocheppan (Castel d’Appiano). What else but a delicious Tirol dumpling could have inspired the artist in question?