Abroad thoughts from home

Son J has two "musts" when he visits - German or better Bavarian beer and "Spätzle" (or Spaetzle if the umlaut doesn't appear). These are a very Swabian speciality and also common in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.

When he left on Tuesday morning we managed to squeeze some supermarket packs of Spätzle into his Ryanair cabin bag. This evening he was now going to give them his full attention but somehow he couldn't come to terms with how simple they are. So having heard that Aldi sometimes sells them as a special, he took off to the local Aldi hoping to find the magic ingredients needed to "dress" the dish. The only thing he found was Aldi wheat beer which he did buy. I tried researching this and think it is possibly brewed in the UK

Back home, the doubts increased and then came the WhatsApp photo of the beer and forlorn Spätzle and a plea for help. We managed to sort it out and the evening was saved.

They are the equivalent of mash - basically, quick and simple poor man's food - egg, flour and water and way back in history often made with spelt which contains lots of albumens and for the very poor saved the egg. Mix together to a thick, sticky consistency, push through some form of press with holes directly in to simmering water and when the resulting blops come to the surface, take them out and then usually they are further cooked for instance lightly fried until golden brown or in a dish with onions and cheese popped in the oven.

Really are nothing special are dead simple to make but like so many we buy the pre.made, pre-cooked ones. I suspect like most such things, they taste great in the "Country of Origin" but something is missing back home. A bottle of cheap Greek Retsina tastes great in a seaside promenade restaurant watching Costas, Stavros & Co sip their coffee and twiddle their beads but back home you wouldn't dare use it as drain cleaner. I suspect though the Aldi beer was OK after the 6th bottle.

Thanks, J for the photo