This cheesy Austrian dish and asparagus are perfect for a chilly autumn #FoodFriday / #FoodieFriday night!

We discovered these recipes in “The Cookbook According to St. Paul’s,” a wonderful offering curated in 1979 by an organization then known as “The Paulist Women’s Club”* at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Community, the parish we serve in Los Angeles.

Happy eating!

Kasespatzle (Austrian Cheese Noodle Casserole)

Ingredients:

5 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt
2 cups, 2 tbsp. (17 oz.) milk
8 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
1 stick plus 3 tbsp. butter
3 cups onions, finely chopped

Instructions:

Put 5-quart pot on stove and fill 3/4 full with salted water. Bring to boil.

Mix flour, eggs, dash of salt and milk lightly with a wooden spoon. Do not beat. 

Sauté onions in the butter until golden brown. Set aside. 

To make noodles: Use a spätzle maker, or do the following: Take a narrow cutting board. Place the mixture on top of it towards the back end, putting the front end on the edge of the pot of boiling water. With a flat knife, cut off and away from the mixture enough for a noddle and slide it, with the knife, down the board into the boiling water. Do this until all the mixture has been used.

(First timers: Do not worry that your noodles will vary in thickness and length, the technique takes, like everything, practice.)

Stir. The spätzle are done when they float to the top. Drain well. 

In a four to six casserole arrange layers of drained spätzle and cheese until used. Top layered contents with the sautéed onions. 

Place in preheated oven of 350 degrees for ten minutes, just long enough to melt the cheese throughout the casserole. Serve immediately. Serves six.

Esphesian Asparagus

Ingredients:

3 lbs. asparagus
½ cup flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. dry white wine
1 ½ cups bread crumbs
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup olive oil

Instructions:

Break off tough ends of asparagus stalks (great to save for soup). Dredge stalks in flour, then in egg, then wine and finally sip into mixture of bread crumbs, cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sauté in oil until tender. Do Not Overcook or precious nutrients will be lost. Test with a fork until spear feels crisp/ tender. (Approximate cooking time: ten minutes.) Serves six.

* “The Paulist Women’s Club” is now known as Parents Working for Children.

Want to find more recipes from “The Cookbook According to St. Paul’s?” Check out our last #FoodFriday post!