Kaesespaetzle

Ingredients

• 400g plain flour
• 5 eggs
• 150ml sparkling water
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 250g Bergkase, Emmental or mature Gruyere, coarsely grated
• 3 large onions
• 60g butter
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• Black pepper
• Chopped chives, to finish

Before you cook

• Peel the onions, halve them and slice them into thin half-moons.
• Grate the cheese and keep it in a bowl.
• Bring a very large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
• Set a colander and a bowl of cold water near the stove.
• Butter a deep ovenproof dish.

Steps

1. Put the flour, eggs, salt and a grating of nutmeg in a bowl and beat hard with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the sparkling water gradually and keep beating for 5 minutes until the batter is glossy and pulls away from the spoon in ribbons with visible bubbles.
3. Rest the batter for 20 minutes.
4. Heat the oil and a third of the butter in a wide frying pan over medium-low heat.
5. Add the onions with the sugar and a pinch of salt and cook for 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until deep brown and sweet.
6. Hold a spaetzle board or a colander with wide holes over the boiling water and push a ladleful of batter through it.
7. Cook the noodles for 2 minutes, until they float and then bob for another 30 seconds.
8. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon into the colander and rinse briefly under cold water.
9. Repeat until all the batter is used, keeping the water at a full boil each time.
10. Heat your oven to 180C fan.
11. Melt the remaining butter and toss the drained spaetzle in it with a good grind of black pepper.
12. Spread a third of the noodles in the dish and cover them with a third of the cheese.
13. Build two more layers the same way, finishing with cheese.
14. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted into the noodles and the top is patched with brown.
15. Pile the caramelised onions over the top and scatter with chives before serving.