Serves 4 

Spaetzle (the name means "little sparrow" in German) is a tiny homemade noodle.  Sauté the finished spaetzle in butter until the noodles are a bit crusty and the butter is gently browned. This makes the perfect side dish for a wintry supper of crisp-skinned roast chicken or juicy roast pork.

You can buy a special piece of equipment to push the spaetzle dough into the boiling water -- but a metal colander with medium size holes (ie. not a fine mesh sieve) works fine for us. When you're not scraping the dough through it, though, don't leave the metal colander sitting over the pot of boiling water.  If the colander gets too hot, it will cook the dough and holes will get plugged.