The Foreign Residents in the TRNC – TFR

Bavarian Recipes: “Kasspatzen”

(“cheese sparrows”)

by Ralph Kratzer

The starting point of this very popular and savoury speciality lies in the Allgäu, a beautiful landscape near and in the Bavarian Alps. The people there were initially poor people, they hardly possessed any land and the soil was not very fertile. “Kasspatzen” or “Käsespätzle” were affordable to manufacture and also very rich. The “cheese sparrows” are made of thick liquid dough, which is originally “scraped” from a wooden board into boiling water. The small dumpling formed lumps are then placed in a bowl and covered with cheese and, according to taste, with melted onions.

Ingredients:

• 500 g flour
• approx. a quarter litre of water
• 4-5 eggs
• salt
• 250g grated cheese (eg mixture of Emmental cheese, Mountain cheese, Weißlacker or Romadur)
• 5 onions
• butter
• pepper

Tools: Mixing bowl, wooden board or special “sparrows planer”, large pot, large bowl for serving

Preparation: Process flour, eggs and water to a smooth, creamy batter and add some salt.

Cut the onions into rings and fry in a pan with butter until they have a strong brown colour.

Meanwhile, process the dough through the “sparrows planer” (a kind of press or screen that forms typical noodles from the dough) or scrape them from the wooden board into sufficient boiling salted water.

Once the “sparrows“ float on top pick with a skimmer out of the water and enter directly into the serving bowl.

Place a layer of cheese on top and then layer the next portion of fresh “sparrows“ in the bowl.

Repeat this until the ingredients are used up.

Finally, add the browned onions to the cheese noodles, season with pepper.

Serve immediately, preferably directly at the table, mix all ingredients well again – so the cheese is properly distributed.

“Kasspatzen” are eaten with a green salad and, if you like, a slice of bread.

A Bavarian Beer is the perfect drink to the hearty meal.