Ask anyone in Liechtenstein for the national dish and the answer arrives before you finish the question. Käsknöpfle are small, irregular egg dumplings, the local cousin of Swabian spätzle, folded while hot through grated cheese until it melts into long strings, then heaped with onions fried slowly in butter. The classic cheese pairing is a nutty mountain cheese and Sauerkäse, a tangy, crumbly sour milk cheese made in the Alpine Rhine valley. At the table they come with a bowl of apple sauce, which sounds eccentric until the first forkful, and then sounds like common sense.

Liechtenstein has never hosted a Grand Prix, and its Formula 1 chapter is one driver, Rikky von Opel, who started ten races for Ensign and Brabham in 1973 and 1974. It is a short chapter, but Käsknöpfle are a long, generous dish, and they make the ideal plate for any race weekend that runs into the evening. You do not need a special press: a colander with large holes, or a wet board and a knife, does the job as the farmhouse cooks did it.

The fried onions

Ingredients

• 2 large yellow onions
• 4 tablespoons (60 g) butter

Method

1. Put the skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Let it melt and foam for about 1 minute.
2. Add the onions and stir to coat them in butter. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. If they start to darken at the edges before the middle is soft, turn the heat down a little. When they are done, turn off the heat and leave them in the pan.

The dumplings

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) cold water
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Method

1. Put the flour, fine salt, nutmeg and pepper in the mixing bowl. Make a hollow in the middle, crack in the eggs and add the water. Stir with the wooden spoon from the middle outward, then beat hard for 3 to 4 minutes, lifting and slapping the dough against the side of the bowl.
2. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile fill the large pot about three quarters full of water, add the coarse salt and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat.
3. Turn the heat down to medium high so the water keeps a steady boil. Colander method: hold the colander over the pot, spoon in about a quarter of the dough, and push it through the holes with the spatula, scraping back and forth so short drops fall into the water. Board method: wet the board, spread a quarter of the dough thinly on it, hold it at an angle over the pot and use the wet knife to scrape off thin strips, about the width of a pencil, straight into the water. Dip the knife in the hot water often so the dough does not stick.
4. Once the dumplings float, let them boil for 1 minute more, then lift them out with the slotted spoon, shaking off the water. Layer them straight into the warm serving dish with the cheese as described in the next component. Repeat with the rest of the dough in three more batches.

Layering with cheese

Ingredients

• 7 oz (200 g) Appenzeller cheese
• 3 1/2 oz (100 g) Sauerkäse
• 2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60 ml) dumpling cooking water

Method

1. Toss the two grated cheeses together in a bowl so every layer gets both.
2. Each time a batch of dumplings goes into the dish, scatter a quarter of the cheese over it and stir gently with a fork so it begins to melt. If the mixture looks dry and the cheese is clumping rather than melting, sprinkle over 1 or 2 tablespoons of the hot dumpling water and stir again. Keep the dish in the warm oven between batches.
3. Rewarm the onions over medium heat for 1 minute, then spoon them and their butter over the dumplings.

To serve

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (370 g) apple sauce

Method

1. Serve the Käsknöpfle at once, straight from the dish, with the apple sauce in a bowl alongside for everyone to add a spoonful beside their dumplings.

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