Ingredients

• 14 ounces flour
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 ounces gruyere cheese
• 4 ounces edam cheese (or preferably Swiss Emmentaler if you can find it)
• 1 lb onion, halved and sliced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 pinches salt, divided
• 1 pinch fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. and place a smaller casserole dish (approximately 11 X 7) in the oven to warm before adding the spaetzle. Place a large pot on the stove and add 2 quarts salted water. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, add the flour eggs, milk and 2 pinches salt and stir vigorously until thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be runny but stable. Set aside and let dough rest.

2. Grate cheeses and mix them together. Set aside.

3. Pour the olive oil in a large pan and heat. Add the sliced onion, 2 pinches salt and the freshly ground pepper. Cook until the onions are nicely browned and soft. Set aside.

4. Place the spaetzle maker or colander over the boiling pot of salted water. Pour in about 1/3 of the dough and move the speatzle maker back and forth, or push the dough through the colander with a spreader. Stir the spaetzle regularly to prevent sticking. Simmer gently until the spaetzle floats on the top of the water. It's done at this point. Remove with a medium size handled sieve, let the water drain out and place into the pre-heated casserole dish. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese and the onions on top of the spaetzle and repeat this step two more times until there are three layers of spaetzle, onions and cheese in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the parsley on top and let rest for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted.

5. Serve with a green salad and a cold beer.