Oktoberfest is an annual festival which began in Munich. It actually begins in September, ending on the first Sunday in October.
The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
Of course, as with any celebration, there are many foods associated with the occasion, ‘spätzle’ being one of them. The first name that comes to the mind when one thinks of pasta is Italy, however, the Germans too love pastas. Spätzle is a cross between pasta, an egg noodle and a dumpling, a kind of ‘German mac & cheese,’. It originates from the Baden-Württemberg region of southwest Germany and is a common dish at any beer hall or beer tent during Oktoberfest.
Celebrating Oktoberfest doesn’t have to be all about the German beer. So I thought, why not take the spätzle idea one step further and make it into lasagna?! Classic German staples come together in this lasagna to make a very unique version of the classic dish.
There are six main ingredients in this recipe. The first is spätzle. The second is onion. By caramelizing the diced pieces you turn it into little velvety pieces of heaven that add incredible depth and sweetness to the dish. Third is Bratwurst, a fresh link sausage characterized by its many different spices and seasonings. Fourth is sauerkraut, bratwurst’s classic sidekick. Fifth is bacon and the crowning touch and grand finale is the Emmentaler cheese.
Compared to traditional pasta dough, spätzle is softer and quite moist. The dough is quite basic, made from flour, eggs, water and salt. Although these little ‘dumplings’ can be eaten with almost anything, I thought they added something real special to this German lasagna.
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- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup (155 gm) butter,
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp beef bouillon granules
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp veg salt
- 2 1/4 cups milk
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 large (340 gm) onion, diced
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp pepper
- 200 gm (about 3 slices) bacon, cooked & chopped
- 500 gm Bratwurst sausages, meat squeezed frim their casings
- 350 ml JAR sauerkraut, rinsed & squeezed dry
- 200 gm Emmentaler, Jarlsberg or Gruyere cheese, grated YOUR CHOICE
Ingredients
Spätzle
Sauce
Caramelized Onions
Cottage Cheese
Additional Ingredients
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- 1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with salt & make a well in the center. Add eggs to the well & whisk the flour into the eggs. Gradually whisk in the water until a very thick batter forms. Cover with a damp cloth & allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place spätzle dough maker above the pot with the water. Load with dough & slide back & forth or press to squeeze the dough through & form the spätzle noodles.
- Once the spätzle begins to float to the surface, scoop with a large, slotted spoon & transfer to a colander placed inside a bowl for the drained water to collect. Continue the process until all of the dough is used.
- Heat oil in saucepan, add onion & sprinkle with salt. Cook & stir about 15 minutes or until moisture is evaporated & onion is soft. Reduce heat, sprinkle with cider vinegar. Cook & stir until golden. Stir in brown sugar; cook & stir until caramel brown in color. Set it aside.
- In the saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, bouillon, garlic powder & salt until smooth. Gradually stir in milk & broth. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat to a bowl & set aside.
- In the saucepan, cook bacon (not too crisp); remove to a cutting board to coarsely chop. Add bratwurst sausage meat (which has been removed from casings) to saucepan & scramble fry until cooked. Drain on paper towel. Add chopped bacon, bratwurst & caramelized onions to your prepared sauce.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs; add cottage cheese & pepper. Set aside. Drain sauerkraut & rinse. Squeeze dry. Grate cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
- Spread 1 cup sauce mixture over bottom of pan. Layer with 1/3 of the spätzle noodles, 1/3 of sauce mixture, 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 of the sauerkraut & 3/4 cup grated cheese. Repeat layers (spätzle, sauce, cottage cheese, sauerkraut, spätzle, sauce). Save grated cheese for the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Cover & bake for 50-60 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining GRATED CHEESE; bake 5 minutes longer until cheese is melted. Allow to stand 15 minutes before cutting.
- If you do not have a spätzle dough maker, just drop spoonsful of dough into the boiling water to form spätzle noodles. Dip your spoon into water to prevent it from sticking on the spoon.