Rivels - My Mother-in-Law's German Style

 

Okay, that's a screen capture I just did to show first that anything you want to know about RIVELS is available online. I got my lessons from my first mother-in-law, and put the info in my Pepperplate. Pepperplate holds so many of my recipes that I despise the thought of printing them all. I've worked on including family stories with each, such as:

Ruth Blickensderfer used to make rivels to add to soups, broths and pinto beans. She referred to one or two egg rivels -- with two you'll just make more by doubling the flour. Very much like spaetzle -- except it's all done by hand. An internet site gave instructions for egg noodles, similar ingredients. They didn't even add salt. 

I found more information by using Google's AI (I think it goes by Gemini now, but knowing that wasn't a requirement when I used it.) 

Rivels (or ribbles) are a classic Pennylvania Dutch comfort food staple, often described as small, rustic egg dumplings, or 'poor man noodles.' (Since Blickensderfer brothers showed up in Lancaster county PA in 1736 as followers of Simon Menno, I believe they certainly qualified for the Pennsylvania Dutch label.) Rivels were primarily used to thicken and add substance to soups - such as Chicken Corn Soup or Potato Soup. Classic potato sooup recipe, or quick method, was to bring four cups of broth with four cups of milk to a boil, then add chopped potatoes and one large chopped onion, and cook until the potatoes were tender. While that simmered, the cook prepared rivels to drop in (we'll get to that with Ruth's recipe a bit lower.)

Ruth made rivels to add to broth, soups, and pinto beans. She referred to one or two egg rivels - with two we also doubled the flour. These are very similar to German spaetzle, but Ruth's rivels were all done by hand.

Ingredients:

3/4  cup unbleached flour

       pinch of salt to taste

1     large egg

Definitely simple, right? So are the instructions:

Sift flour (either into a bowl or on a floured spot on the counter. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack an egg into that well. Mix with fingers to form a stiff dough. Ruth woiuld work until there were peas-sized crumbs, not a complete dough. She would grab a handful and drop them slowly into the simmering soup, repeating until all the dough was in the soup. When they float, they are done. She added any left over flour to thicken the soup, or discard what was left.

That is how simple it is. Works with any number of soups. If you need more, add another egg and another 3/4 cup of flour.

This works for a number of shapes, too.  I've seen it mixed to a dough stage and using a spoon, the cook pulls a small strip of dough - may even shape it as a gnocchi. Ruth also made homemade noodles in a similar fashion. I found a site that it explains - with photos - a bit better than I will here, and you might enjoy visiting Bigger Bolder Baking for specifics.

 Ruth would place her flour exactly as she would for rivels - spreading some flour on her cabinet first, then the amount she needed. Usually it would be a four-egg noodle with three cups flour. As with Rivels, Ruth worked the mix with her fingers, brining the flour from the side of the well she had the eggs in to the center, incorporating the eggs into the flour until it makes a dough that can be kneaded. When it can be formed into a ball, cover it and allow the dough to rest before rolling it out. Gives enough time to clean up and prepare to roll the dough. Separate the dough into easily handled balls and roll them into a thin sheet. Fold it several times so you only have to make short cuts - about a quarter-inch wide (or wider if you are making wider noodles), then separate the noodles, and dust with flour. 

At this point they need to dry a bit. If you can, drape them over wooden hangers.  If not, jumble them on a tray and complete the other balls. If you decide to work different shapes, justs Google pasta shapes. Ample opporunity to try many types!

So - now you know that Rivels are only one of many styles of egg/flour dough products that provide a wide range of comfort food at a reasonable price.  Ready to try your own? Oh - how many typos did you find? I have "trigger finger" - I won't say which one - but I would wager that there are extra 'i' several times on this page. I no longer type faster than I think - not even as fast as I think!!