Fall is the perfect time for some hearty dishes. Something to warm you up and keep you warm for some time. In the area where I am coming from in the south of Germany, we have a lot of these dishes and I am loving each and every one of them since I am a kid. One quite popular stew is called “Saure Linsen mit Spätzle und Wienerle” aka. Sour Lentil Stew with Spätzle and Sausages. Really good. It’s one of my favorite dishes my grandma loved to make ;)
The area I am coming from is deep in the south close to the border to Switzerland. That’s not Swabia as some might think, but pretty close. We actually share a lot of dishes with Swabians and one of them is this lentil stew with typical Swabian noodles aka. Spätzle. If you heard about german food, you probably heard of them ;P
Anyway. My grandma and my mom both liked/like this kind of dish a lot – I guess that’s why we had it so often when I was a kind and that’s probably why I love it too since I was a kid. That’s not very common I guess. Lentil stew or a stew with peas was never one of the favorite dishes my friends at school liked. They were more into pizza and pasta ;P Well… I always had very odd favorite foods when I was a kid. Brussels sprouts. Loved them. Bread roll with Nutella, salami, and pickles…mmm! I know ;)
Well. Sour lentils with noodles and sausages are very popular in Swabia and Baden (the area where I am from). Here in Berlin (and I guess all over Germany) people also eat lentil stew but I think the addition of a lot of vinegar – to get sour lentils – is more common in the south. I could be wrong, but every time I add loads of vinegar to my lentils and friends here see me doing that they are a bit confused. Could also be because I really really use a lot of vinegar for this dish. It almost has to hurt the tongue. That sour ;P
Anyway. The recipe is made for all tastebuds, so there is vinegar involved, but not that much to be honest. You can always add more if you like.
Oh… and of course, you can make the spätzle a day in advance or use premade noodles here. No need to do more work than necessary. Almost every supermarket here in Germany has premade spätzle in the refrigerated section – so no need to make them at home if you don’t want to. Not judging here ;)
Where I am going to judge you: if you use sausages from a can. Do not do that! That’s just gross. Get fresh sausages – either wieners or frankfurters from a butcher’s shop. Much better than everything pre-packaged ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4-5 servings)
For the spätzle:
14 oz. (400g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
4 medium eggs
7.4 fl. oz. (220ml) sparkling water
1-2 tbsp. butter (optional)
For the lentils:
some oil for frying
1.8 oz. (50g) bacon, diced
1 large red onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 piece of knob celery, finely diced
1/2 leek, in rings
7 oz. (200g) brown lentils
25 fl. oz. (750ml) vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. thyme
8 wieners
3-4 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper
(4-5 Portionen)
Für die Spätzle:
400g Mehl (Type 550)
1 TL Salz
4 Eier (M)
220ml Sprudelwasser
1-2 EL Butter (optional)
Für die Linsen:
etwas Öl zum Anbraten
50g Speck, gewürfelt
1 große rote Zwiebel, gewürfelt
1 große Karotte, fein gewürfelt
1 Stück Knollensellerie, fein gewürfelt
1/2 Lauch, in Ringen
200g braune Linsen
750ml Gemüsebrühe
1 Lorbeerblatt
1 TL Majoran
1 TL Thymian
8 Wiener
3-4 EL Apfelessig
Salz, Pfeffer
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the flour and salt for the spaetzle to a large bowl and mix. Add eggs and the sparkling water and mix until a stretchy dough forms – the dough should flow slowly from a wooden spoon if you lift it up. Allow resting for about 10-15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, peel and finely dice the onion. Peel the carrot and knob celery and dice them finely as well. Wash the leek well, dry it, and then cut into rings.
3. Add some oil to a large pot and heat up. Fry the bacon a bit, then add the diced onion and sauté briefly. Add the diced carrot, celery, leek, and lentils and sauté for a couple of minutes until slightly soft and browned. Deglaze with the veggie stock, add the bay leaf, marjoram, and thyme and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add water with some salt to a large pot and bring to a boil. Prepare a bowl with cold water and place next to the pot. As soon as the water is boiling, place a spaetzle grater* on top of the pot and spread a small amount of dough on top of it – the dough will go through the small holes in the grater and drop into the boiling water. As soon as the noodles come up to the top again take them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the bowl with the cold water, then let drain in a sieve. Repeat until all dough has been used.
5. Add the wieners either to the pasta water while it is still hot (but not boiling), or add them to the lentils for the last 5 minutes of cooking and warm them up there. If you like, you can toss the spaetzle in a pan with melted butter to warm them up again. Season lentils with vinegar, salt, and pepper, then serve spaetzle, lentils, and wiener together.
1. Mehl und Salz für die Spätzle in eine große Schüssel geben und vermischen. Eier und Sprudel dazugeben und alles zu einem zähen Teig verarbeiten – der Teig sollte Blasen werfen und langsam von einem Kochlöffel fließen. Für etwa 10-15 Minuten quellen lassen.
2. In der Zwischenzeit die Zwiebel schälen und fein würfeln. Karotte und Knollensellerie schälen und dann ebenfalls fein würfeln. Lauch gut waschen, trocknen und dann in Ringe schneiden.
3. Einen großen Topf mit etwas Öl erhitzen. Den gewürfelten Speck etwas auslassen, dann die gewürfelte Zwiebel dazugeben und kurz anschwitzen. Gewürfelte Karotte, Sellerie und Lauch und Linsen dazugeben und alles kurz anschwitzen. Mit der Gemüsebrühe ablöschen, Lorbeerblatt, Majoran und Thymian dazugeben und dann für etwa 15-20 Minuten köcheln lassen.
4. Während die Linsen kochen, einen großen Topf mit Salzwasser zum Kochen bringen. Eine Schüssel mit kaltem Wasser bereitstellen. Sobald das Wasser kocht, eine Spätzlereibe* auf den Topf setzen und etwas Teig durchstreichen/reiben. Der Teig wird ins kochende Wasser tropfen und kurz auf den Boden sinken. Sobald die Knöpfle an die Oberfläche kommen, mit einer Schaumkelle abschöpfen und in die Schüssel mit dem kalten Wasser geben und kurz abschrecken, dann in ein Sieb geben, damit sie abtropfen können. Mit dem restlichen Teig wiederholen, bis alles aufgebraucht ist.
5. Die Wiener entweder ins noch heiße (aber nicht kochende) Nudelwasser geben und damit aufwärmen, oder in den letzten 5 Minuten Kochzeit zu den Linsen dazugeben und dort aufwärmen. Wer mag, kann die Spätzle noch einmal in einer Pfanne mit geschmolzener Butter schwenken. Linsen mit Essig, Salz und Pfeffer würzen und dann Spätzle, Linsen und Wiener zusammen servieren.
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Sour Lentils with Spätzle & Wieners
- Prep Time: 00:40
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 01:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
A classic dish from the south of Germany: Swabian Sour Lentils with Spätzle and Wieners. One of my favorite childhood dishes from home ;)
Ingredients
For the spätzle:
14 oz. (400g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
4 medium eggs
7.4 fl. oz. (220ml) sparkling water
1–2 tbsp. butter (optional)
For the lentils:
some oil for frying
1.8 oz. (50g) bacon, diced
1 large red onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 piece of knob celery, finely diced
1/2 leek, in rings
7 oz. (200g) brown lentils
25 fl. oz. (750ml) vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. thyme
8 wieners
3–4 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Add the flour and salt for the spaetzle to a large bowl and mix. Add eggs and the sparkling water and mix until a stretchy dough forms – the dough should flow slowly from a wooden spoon if you lift it up. Allow resting for about 10-15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, peel and finely dice the onion. Peel the carrot and knob celery and dice them finely as well. Wash the leek well, dry it, and then cut into rings.
3. Add some oil to a large pot and heat up. Fry the bacon a bit, then add the diced onion and sauté briefly. Add the diced carrot, celery, leek, and lentils and sauté for a couple of minutes until slightly soft and browned. Deglaze with the veggie stock, add the bay leaf, marjoram, and thyme and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add water with some salt to a large pot and bring to a boil. Prepare a bowl with cold water and place next to the pot. As soon as the water is boiling, place a spaetzle grater* on top of the pot and spread a small amount of dough on top of it – the dough will go through the small holes in the grater and drop into the boiling water. As soon as the noodles come up to the top again take them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the bowl with the cold water, then let drain in a sieve. Repeat until all dough has been used.
5. Add the wieners either to the pasta water while it is still hot (but not boiling), or add them to the lentils for the last 5 minutes of cooking and warm them up there. If you like, you can toss the spaetzle in a pan with melted butter to warm them up again. Season lentils with vinegar, salt, and pepper, then serve spaetzle, lentils, and wiener together.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
