- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- 1 cup peeled and sliced shallots
- 6 sage leaves, chopped, or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Combine the flour, milk, ¼ cup water, a large pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of pepper in a bowl and beat well.
- Strain the batter through a coarse colander or spaetzle maker into the boiling water and cook until the noodles rise to the top, just a couple of minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking; drain again. (You can prepare the noodles a day in advance up to this point; refrigerate, covered, until you’re ready to cook.)
- Put the oil in a medium skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Be careful–once they start to brown, they brown quickly, and may burn if you don’t keep an eye on them. Remove the shallots with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; reserve the oil.
- Heat about half the reserved oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spaetzle and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sage and serve, topped with the crisp shallots.