Spelt spaetzle with fennel vegetables

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 150 g spelt flour, light
• 150 g wholemeal spelt flour, preferably home-ground
• 150 ml water
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 liter of water
• 2 bulbs of fennel
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 tbsp oil, for frying
• 100 ml water
• 1 tbsp spelt flour, light
• 200 ml vegetable stock
• salt and pepper
• Nutmeg, freshly grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

vegetarian

For the spelt spaetzle: Put the spelt flour in a bowl. I grind the wholemeal spelt flour myself. Mix it with the eggs and 150 ml water, as well as 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp salt, to form a thick spaetzle dough. Beat the dough until it bubbles. Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes so that the wholemeal flour has time to swell. If the dough is too thick after swell, add a little more water. If it’s too runny, add a little more flour. Now bring 1 liter of water to a simmer and drop the spaetzle into the water in batches using a press, slicer, or scraper, whichever you prefer. As soon as they float to the surface, wait another 30 seconds if using wholemeal flour and then skim them off. Let them drain on a large platter. For the fennel: Set the fennel greens aside for later decoration. Quarter the bulbs and cut into thin strips. Finely dice the onion. Briefly sauté the onions in a little oil in a large pot, then add the fennel. Deglaze with 100 ml of water and simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the flour sauce: thoroughly mix 1 tablespoon of spelt flour with 200 ml of cold vegetable stock until no lumps remain. Season with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Pour the sauce over the fennel. Then add the spaetzle and mix thoroughly. Simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the spaetzle are nicely saturated. Sprinkle with fennel greens before serving.