Crispy Käsespätzle Cups with Chive Sour Cream

Method

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl, add the eggs and cold water and beat hard with a wooden spoon for 3 min into a thick, bubbly batter. Rest for 10 min.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 140 gFine salt ½ tspEggs (for the batter) 1Cold water 40 ml

2. Cut the bacon into 5 mm strips and fry in a 18 cm frying pan over medium heat for 5 min, until crisp, then lift onto kitchen paper. Heat the oven to 200 °C.

   Add in this stepBacon, chopped 60 g

   medium heat

3. Bring the water and coarse salt to the boil in a 20 cm pot over high heat; it takes about 8 min. Turn down to medium-high heat, press the batter through a spätzle press or large-holed colander, and when the spätzle float, cook 1 min more and lift them out. Spread them on a tray for 5 minutes so the steam escapes and the surface dries; drier spätzle bake crisper.

   Add in this stepWater (for boiling) 2 LCoarse salt (for the water) 1 tbsp

   high heat→medium-high heat

4. In a large bowl, beat the binding eggs with the milk, then stir in three-quarters of the cheese and some pepper. Add the spätzle and the fried bacon and fold until evenly coated.

   Add in this stepEggs (for binding) 1Milk 50 mlGrated Emmental or Gruyère 90 gBlack pepper to taste

5. Brush the cups of a muffin tin thoroughly with melted butter (about 3 standard cups per serving). Pack the spätzle mixture in firmly right to the top and scatter over the rest of the cheese. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 200 °C for 18 min, until the tops and edges are deep golden and crisp. Cool in the tin for 5 min, then run a knife around each cup and lift them out.

   Add in this stepButter, melted (for the tin) 15 gGrated Emmental or Gruyère 30 g

   oven

6. Stir most of the chives into the sour cream to make the dip. Sprinkle the remaining chives over the cups and serve warm with the dip.

   Add in this stepSour cream 100 gChives, snipped 2 tbsp