Schupfnudeln

The name comes from the dialect verb schupfen, to push or roll something away with the curved palm — exactly the motion that shapes each noodle. The form is old: similar hand-rolled flour-and-water 'finger noodles' are recorded in the German southwest well before the potato, and tradition links them to the Landsknecht soldiers of the Thirty Years' War, who rolled their flour ration and water into noodles in the field. Once the potato took hold in 17th- and 18th-century Germany, thrifty Swabian cooks stretched scarce flour with cheaper boiled potato, and the modern potato Schupfnudel was born. The same noodle is called Bubespitzle or Baunzen in the Palatinate and Alemannic regions, and Fingernudeln further afield.

Pillowy and a little chewy inside, with a thin pan-fried crust that gives a faint crunch and tastes of browned butter. Savoury, they pick up the sour tang of sauerkraut and the salt of bacon; sweet, they go soft under sugar and warm cinnamon. The shape matters to the mouthfeel — the tapered ends fry crispest, the plump middle stays tender. Served as a side under braised meat, or as a one-dish supper with kraut.

Everything hinges on the dough being firm and not too wet. Floury potatoes are boiled, riced or mashed, and ideally cooled or even left a day so they shed moisture; they are then bound with flour, egg and a little salt and nutmeg into a dough just stiff enough to roll without sticking. Too much potato moisture or too little flour and the noodles fall apart in the water; too much flour and they turn leaden. Each piece is rolled by hand into a finger with pointed ends, dropped into simmering salted water until it floats, then drained well and finished in hot fat — the second cooking is what gives the prized crust. They are usually boiled in advance and fried to order.