I must preface this entry with a note that I wasn't in the best mood when I got home to make this recipe. I'd planned to make Mushroom Stew with Spaetzle, and so that's what I decided to do, regardless of how I felt.
Now, there are some hints that this isn't a recipe to make when you're prone to frustration. You make spaetzle (German egg noodles), and then you make the mushroom stew. Neither of these should be that difficult, but doing both back-to-back is a little time-consuming.
I don't make pasta very often, and I've never made spaetzle. Basically, you mix together flour, salt, milk, and eggs, and let the mixture set for 10 minutes. Then you push the sticky dough through a large-holed colander into a pot of boiling water. You scoop the spaetzle from the water once they float to the top. I didn't have a colander with ¼ inch holes, but one of the reviews of the recipe said they pushed the dough through the slats of a broiler pan. That sounded reasonable, and it worked okay, but I found that the spaetzle floated practically as soon as it hit the water. It was pretty messy to do as well. It worked, but I got frustrated while doing it. I just didn't find the spaetzle appetizing once I cooked them.
The mushroom stew was pretty straightforward to make, although you had to soak dried mushrooms to start. Saute onions and garlic, add various mushrooms, and cook until most moisture has evaporated. Add flour and paprika, then red wine, and then broth and mushroom soaking liquid, and cook about 15 minutes until thickened. Add balsamic vinegar salt and pepper, and parsley, stir in spaetzle, and serve.
This was okay. I wasn't in the mood for it once I was done cooking it, so I was unimpressed. Alex liked the chewy spaetzle, and liked that the meal tasted hearty even though it didn't have any meat in it. He said that he thought it tasted similar to beef stroganoff, except without the beef. He liked it, and went back for seconds. There was probably nothing wrong with this recipe; I was just tired and not in the mood to eat it. It's probably a solid recipe. Give it a try if you'd like, because Alex liked it.
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