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1
Mix the Knöpfle Dough
10 Mins
Room temperature
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, beat the eggs straight into it, then pour in the milk and water a little at a time, stirring until you have a thick, viscous batter that drops slowly from a spoon in ribbons. Cover and leave it to rest for 10 to 20 minutes.
The batter should be thicker than pancake batter and thinner than bread dough — if it runs off the spoon like water, whisk in a spoonful more flour.
Done when: A smooth, glossy batter that falls from the spoon in a slow, heavy ribbon.
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2
Grate the Cheese & Flour the Onions
10 Mins
Room temperature
Finely grate the hard cheese into a large bowl and mix in the cubed sour cheese. Put the onion strips in a lidded bowl or tin with the tablespoon of flour, close the lid and shake well until every strip is dusted.
Grate the cheese fine, not coarse — fine shreds melt fast between the hot knöpfle and turn properly stringy.
Done when: A bowl of fine cheese shreds and evenly flour-dusted onion strips.
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3
Fry the Onions Crisp
12 Mins
Medium heat, ~175°C (350°F)
Melt the butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the floured onions and fry slowly, stirring now and then, until they turn a deep golden brown and crisp at the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Lift them out and keep warm.
Keep the heat at medium and be patient — dark, crisp onions are the point, but on high heat they burn before they crisp.
Done when: Deep golden-brown, dry and crisp onion strips.
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4
Cook the Knöpfle in Batches
15 Mins
Simmering water, 100°C (212°F)
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then turn it down so it only simmers gently. Press or scrape the dough through a spätzle slicer or the coarse holes of a grater into the water, a portion at a time. As soon as the knöpfle float to the top, after about 1 to 2 minutes, lift them out with a slotted spoon into a warm serving bowl.
Do not let the water boil hard or the knöpfle tear; a gentle simmer keeps them plump and whole.
Done when: Plump knöpfle bobbing on the surface, cooked through with no raw flour taste.
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5
Layer with Cheese & Melt
5 Mins
Residual heat from the knöpfle
After each batch of knöpfle lands in the bowl, scatter a handful of the grated cheese over it, then add the next batch on top and more cheese. When all the dough is cooked, add the last of the cheese and a spoonful or two of the hot cooking water, then stir everything well until the cheese melts into long, stringy strands.
The hot cooking water is the trick — it loosens the cheese just enough to coat every dumpling without turning greasy.
Done when: Every knöpfle coated in melted, stringy cheese.
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6
Serve with Onions & Applesauce
3 Mins
Serve hot
Pile the cheese knöpfle onto warm plates, heap the crisp fried onions over the top, and set a spoonful of cool applesauce beside each serving. Serve at once, while the cheese is still stretching.
Warm the plates first — the cheese firms up fast on a cold plate.
Done when: Steaming knöpfle, golden crisp onions on top, applesauce on the side.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the Käsknöpfle straight from the bowl while the cheese is still melting, with the onions crisp on top and the applesauce cool beside it — the hot, savoury dumplings and the sweet-tart apple are the classic Liechtenstein contrast.
Liechtenstein
45m
France
Vietnam