Pizokel are rustic, chubby pasta dumplings from the Graubünden region of Switzerland, similar to Spätzli but often larger and sometimes made with buckwheat flour or grated potatoes. They are made from a simple dough of flour, eggs, and milk, and are traditionally scraped or cut from a wet board directly into boiling water. Pizokel are served in many variations, often with melted butter, fried onions, bacon, cheese, or sautéed vegetables like cabbage or spinach.

INGREDIENTS

For Pizokel dough:

2 eggs
125g quark (You can replace with fromage blanc or greek yogurt)
3 Tbsp milk (or water)
140g flour (wheat flour or buckwheat flour or half-half. I like to mix half-half because i want the chewiness from the wheat gluten and the taste of the buckwheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
some black pepper and ground nutmeg
small cutting board that you can easily lift up with one hand
scraper or spatula

For the creamy cheese sauce:

Handful of mushrooms of your choice (Swiss brown or Porcini), sliced
1/2 mid size onion or one shallot, chopped
2-3 Tbsp of chopped bacon (can omit)
100ml Cream + 100ml Milk
50g grated sharp hard cheese like Gruyere, Appenzeller, Tilsiter, Comte etc (dont use mozarella or dry cheese like aged parmagiano)
1 Tbsp butter
Olive oil or other vegetable oil for cooking
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley and cherry tomato for garnish

STEPS

A. Prepare the dough:

1) Combine all the dough ingredients above in a bowl so that they are integrated in one shiny mass. If the mass does not combine well because your flour is too dry, add more milk (or water) to bind. Cover the bowl and let sit in room temperature for 30min. The dough will soak in the moisture from the eggs, quark, milk and develop gluten during its rest.

B. Cook the dough:

1) Boil hot water in a pot with salt, like you’d boil pasta (salt amount is usually 10% of the water amount). Move your Pizokel dough onto a chopping board. When the watere boils, lift up the chopping board with one hand and with your other hand, scrape the dough (bite-size amount) into the boiling water using a dough scraper or spatula. Let boil until it floats up to the surface. When the dough floats up, fish them out using a pasta sieve and set them aside.

C. Making the sauce:

1) Drizzle 2 table spoons of olive oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat and cook the chopped onion and bacon until onions turn transparent. Add in the butter, the sliced mushroom and the Pizokel noodles and fry until they are slightly browned.

2) Turn the heat to medium. Add in the cream, milk, and the grated cheese to the pan and stir until the cheese melts and sauce thickens. When the sauce binds, turn off the heat. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. (Optional: You can also enjoy Pizokel without the cream sauce. Just omit this part)

3) Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and cherry tomato and serve.