I haven’t made these free-form egg noodles (or dumplings) in some time. They’re a variation on regular pasta and traditionally served as a side dish with stews and cutlets. In Hungary, they’re known as nokedli while in Germany/Austria, they’re called spaetzle.
I’ve posted a nokedli recipe before but this is a half batch made with parsley and combined with eggs. First though, one of the traditional dishes served with the nokedli.
Chicken Cutlet (Rantott Csirke) with Parsley Dumplings Nokedli)
Preparing chicken cutlets
Pounding cutlets flat
Dipping in flour, beaten egg and seasoned bread crumbs
Pan fried cutlet
Parsley Nokedli/Spaetzle
Parsley Nokedli/Spaetzle – serves 2
For dumplings
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1 /2 cup water or milk
For boiling and serving dumplings
2 tbsp butter, melted for sauteing cooked nokedli
1 tbsp salt, added to water for boiling the nokedli
Combine the flour, eggs, dried parsley, salt and water. Beat vigorously to form a smooth, pliable batter.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt to the water.
Place a dumpling (or spaetzle) maker over the pot. Push the dough through the holes into the boiling water below. When the dumplings float, scoop them up and place them into a large colander to drain.
(Rinse the dumplings under cold running water if not serving immediately. Drain the dumplings shaking the colander to remove all excess water. Reserve to heat up with melted butter for later.)
Pour the dumplings into a large bowl and add the melted butter. Toss to coat with butter.
Serve with chicken paprikas or add to a stew for more body.
You can heat the dumplings in a frying pan with melted butter. Do not let the dumplings get too brown or crisp.
Hungarian Dumplings with Eggs (Tojasos Nokedli)
Hungarian Dumplings with Eggs (Tojasos Nokedli) – serves 2
2 cups of nokedli from recipe above
2-3 eggs, beaten with a pinch or two of salt and several grinds of black pepper
2 cooked Debrecener sausages, sliced or 4 slices crispy bacon, chopped (optional)
Warm up the nokedli in a large saute pan. Pour the beaten eggs over the nokedli.
Stir continuously until all the eggs are cooked. Add sausages, if using.
Serve immediately.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
You so often remind me of favorite, but forgotten recipes! My great-grandmother used to make spaetzels and serve them with Vienna schnitzels, with a raw egg on top. You are such a source of inspiration – thank you!
Thank you. I’m just easily bored so I go net surfing. 🙂
Incidentally, have you ever heard of a piroshki recipe where the yeast dough is proofed and then frozen margarine is grated into the dough? The piroshki are stuffed with meat and onion or with mushrooms and sautéed cabbage and baked. The recipe came from someone who was Russian … no additional information. It sounded a bit like a knish to me.
By the way, I want to make some knish soon like the ones my mom used to bring home from the Jewish deli she worked in. They were from Romania and the knish was shaped into one long roll, about 1 1/2 inches wide, filled with sauteed onions and ground beef, was baked and then cut into 2 inch long pieces. Not sure if I’m going to stick with that shaping yet. We’ll see what I feel like.
I’ve seen piroshki done this way, but we’ve never used margarine, so somehow we’ve never done it this way. I make mine with either meat and onions or mushrooms and onions, but it’s just a regular yeast dough. Cabbage is a Moscow thing!
Making knishes as one long log and then cutting them is pretty standard, although I see it as somewhat commercial, I guess. Now I want kasha knishes, and it’s all your fault!
Do they have some kind of fat grated into the dough? Or is it just the baking part that you’re referring to?
The log form is definitely commercial. Less labour as you don’t have to shape each knish individually and you can cut them smaller if needed. You can blame me for the inspiration. I’ve never had kasha/buckwheat though I have had bulgur wheat. 🙂
I put olive oil into mine, but I remember my grandmother putting shmaltz into hers.
What – your mother never brought kasha knishes from the Jewish deli?
I don’t think they even made kasha knishes. 🙂
That’s an unusual Jewish deli, then.
Really … it’s the only one I’ve ever been in. And that was 40 yrs ago. 🙂
Please don’t take me seriously – ever! I’ve been working hard on a major project, and my brain screams for a chance to go sideways. 😻
No worries.
I am too preoccupied to worry about anything, other than meeting the deadline right now.
Ah, that reminds me home! And always forgot about that dish. My grandma used to prepare something similar. Thank you for reminding me! 😍💞
Happy to bring back good memories.
Both look like delicious homely Central European meals… we also have these noodles in Switzerland, but I’ve never cooked them.
I envy you so much all these smoked sausages…
LOL.
Mmmm, everything looks so good.
Thank you.
One of our favourite things is to crisp up the nokedli in a butter-laden frying pan, they are sooooo good. I have never seen nokedli with eggs before, what a great idea.
Apparently it’s a ‘thing’. Who knew? 🙂
I’ve never made spaetzle before and you make it sound so easy and well worth the effort. Will be giving this a try. Thanks!
Spaetzle ARE easy.
I don’t have a spaetzle maker so I’ve used a potato ricer, a colander or a flat cheese grater to force the batter through to make them. Check out the link back on my LJ for the different gadgets. I’m all about making cooking as simple as possible. The colander is especially easy but you should hold it above the pot of simmering water so the steam doesn’t get trapped underneath and cook the batter while it’s still in the colander and plug up the holes.
https://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/195292.html
I was certain I left a comment here. We love nokedli. My dear Mom brought me the round style about 30 years ago (from Hungary) and the paddle has long died but it’s still my favourite (using a pastry scraper). I also have the rectangular rail version but I don’t love that one. We always crisp up the nokedli in butter, the crisper the better. I’ve never had them with eggs, must give that a try.
I didn’t know there were different kinds. Thank you for commenting again.