Cooking 101: Pizokel

Click through slide show for step-by-step instructions on how to make pizokel. Photos by Linda Robertson.

1. Whisk the egg, milk, nutmeg and seasonings. Freshly grated nutmeg has more flavour than powdered.

2. The quantities of flour and liquid should be about the same. Pour the egg mixture into the flour. Mix then beat until smooth. Chef Pfyl uses his hand so he can feel the consistency. It should be like a thick pancake mix. Beating is important to...

3. Slice the carrots in half lengthways, then slice thinly on an angle. Slice mushrooms thinly and chop the cabbage leaves.

4. Slip the carrots into boiling water, and when it returns to the boil, add the mushrooms and cabbage leaves, then the well-washed spinach or silverbeet leaves. When the water returns to the boil, scoop the vegetables out and put in iced water to...

5. When the pizokel mixture has rested, small bubbles will form on the surface. Chef Pfyl uses a special tray with holes in it to make the pizokel, but a pizza pan with holes in the bottom or a colander will do. Bring the water the vegetables were...

6. When the pizokel rise to the top, scoop them out with a strainer and run under cold water gently to remove excess starch.

7. Chop bacon, garlic and onion finely.

8. Cook the onion and garlic gently in a little butter, then add the chopped bacon. Stir and and allow to cook briefly, then add the vegetables to heat through and bring out the flavour.

9. Heat butter and a little oil in a frying pan and toss the pizokel in it until it starts to puff a bit and takes on a little colour. Season with freshly grated nutmeg. You'll need to do this in a couple of batches.

10. Butter an oven-proof dish. Divide the pizokel and grated cheese into three and the vegetables into two. Grate the cheese. Spread a third of the pizokel in the dish, then half the vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. ...

11. Pour over the cream. Bake in an oven preheated to 160degC for 15 minutes until the cream is bubbling and the top is slightly browned.

Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier. In this series, he demonstrates recipes from Graubünden in southeastern Switzerland where he grew up.

Pizokel (sometimes called spätzli) is a homemade pasta or little dumplings made with wholemeal flour, then cooked with vegetables, bacon, cheese and cream, rather like a lasagne.

INGREDIENTS
200g strong flour
50g wholemeal flour
1/2 cup milk
5 eggs, beaten
salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.

For the vegetable, bacon, cheese and cream accompaniment:
4 bacon rashers
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp butter
2 carrots
4 large mushrooms
4 cabbage leaves (preferably Savoy cabbage)
a handful of spinach or silverbeet leaves
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated (or half gruyere and half parmesan)
1 cup cream

Tips:

- You can substitute chicken for bacon or make a vegetarian version by leaving out the bacon and perhaps adding capsicum. You can use any vegetable in season, although broccoli tends to lose its florets.

- Serve with country-style crusty bread. Some European-style sausage on the side is also a good accompaniment.

• If you would like to request a particular technique we haven't already shown, please let us know. Write to Cooking 101, Editorial Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 181, Dunedin or email odt.features@odt.co.nz with cooking 101 in the subject line.

More information on cooking from Otago Polytechnic can be found on www.otagocookeryl4.blogspot.com

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