Tojásos Nokedli
Hungary's egg dumplings: rough, drop-spaetzle-style nokedli boiled and finished in beaten eggs that just-set into ribbons among them. A 15-minute supper, eaten with a green salad or pickled cucumbers; the comfort food version of pasta with butter and egg.
Overview
A loose batter of flour, egg and water is pushed through a spätzle plane (or a colander with large holes) into salted boiling water; the dumplings cook in a minute and are lifted out. They go into a buttery pan; beaten eggs are poured over and just-set as they are folded through. Salt, pepper, parsley.
Ingredients
Nokedli
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 eggs (large)
- 150 ml water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Finishing
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 4 eggs (large, beaten)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
Method
Stage 1 - Batter
- Beat the eggs with the water and salt.
- Whisk in the flour to make a thick batter - pourable but lumpy, like a bread batter. Rest 10 minutes.
Stage 2 - Cook the nokedli
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Press the batter through a spätzle plane or a wide-holed colander directly into the water. Work in 2-3 batches.
- The dumplings cook in 60-90 seconds - they float; lift out with a slotted spoon and drain.
Stage 3 - Eggs
- Wipe out the empty pan or use a fresh one; melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the drained nokedli; toss to coat.
- Pour over the beaten eggs; stir gently with a spatula. The eggs will set in 60-90 seconds - fold once or twice but don't overwork; you want soft ribbons of cooked egg, not scramble.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Off the heat, sprinkle in salt, pepper and parsley.
- Serve hot, ideally with a green salad or pickled cucumbers.
Notes
- Spätzle plane vs colander: A spätzle plane (lapostészta-szaggató) gives even, comma-shaped dumplings; a colander with large holes works as a stand-in. A potato ricer can work too.
- Don't overcook the eggs: This is more "moistened with egg" than "scrambled with dumplings". Pull off the heat the second they look just-set.
- Salt the water properly: Pasta-water salty.
Storage
- Best fresh. Cooked nokedli (without the eggs) refrigerates 2 days; reheat in butter and add the eggs as above.
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