Pork Loin Roast and Spaetzli

Spaetzle is a German fresh noodle that is served with just about everything. It's American as Apple Pie German as, well, as Spaetzle. Since we really, really like spaetzle, it was on the menu at Chez Borepatch tonight. I'll give you a secret that will make this the world's best spaetzle, but you'll have to read to the end of the post.

Since it was Mother's Day, a nice roast was called for - pork loin, in this case. Roasting is a great way to cook for a special occasion, since it doesn't take much preparation time (leaving time to take the kids to the park). Today's preparation was simplicity itself: cover a dinner plate with a teaspoon of salt, cover it with a teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper corns, and roll the roast on the plate to get the seasoning covering the whole cut. Sear all sides in a cast iron skillet (about 60-90 seconds on high; don't forget a little canolla oil). Then pop it in the oven at 325 degrees. A skillet is the shizzle Flippity Floppity Floop for roasting, and we'll use it again later. One pan to clean - well done us!

Now to the park, with the kids and dogs.

When you're back, it's time for Spaetzle. I use a regular pasta recipe: 2 cups of flour, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a little nutmeg if you want to be more authentically German (I didn't; we'll get to why in a bit). Make a little Mount Rainier with the flour, then scoop out a Mount St. Helens volcano crater in it. Crack the eggs into the crater, and mix the flour in until you have a ball 'o pasta dough. Fingers are best for mixing. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.

Forming the spaetzle is the hardest part, although it's not hard. If you want to get jiggy, you can get one of these (shamelessly stolen from Taste With The Eyes, who has a really good recipe for Goulash with Spaetzle):


Now, this is cool, but you probably have to make a lot of spaetzle to justify another kitchen gadget. Me, I roll the dough into long, thin rods (about the diameter of a .38 Special cartridge; for a finer spaetzle, roll to the diameter of .22 LR). Take a knife, and cut the rod into 1/2 inch bits. Toss them into boiling water until just cooked through. They'll float when they're done.

Don't over cook them, or you'll make Baby Epicurus cry. And you'll make the spaetzle tough. Drain, and rinse with cold water, and save.

Now comes the trick. When the pork roast is reading 160 degrees on a meat thermometer, take the roast from the oven, and put it on a plate to rest (you do remember to cover it with foil, right?). You'll have a skillet full of crusty roast bits and rendered pork fat. Pour off all but a tablespoon of the fat, and scrape the crusty roast bits loose. Put the spaetzle in the skillet and fry for 2 minutes until they brown. Serve with the roast. Probably some sort of vegetation, if that's your bag, baby.

The traditional German way to finish the boiled spaetzle is to fry them in butter, and this does indeed make them yummy. The nutmeg is enhanced with the nuttiness that the fry imparts from the butter. Here, we take the attitude that there isn't anything not improved by pork fat. Barbarians, really. Well-fed barbarians.

So all in all - easy to make, leaves time to spend en famille, still has that "Ooh, home made!" factor. The diet can start (or resume) tomorrow.