Best pasta dishes in Central Europe – the German dish wins

Italy is indisputably the country of pasta. But what are the best pasta dishes in Central Europe when Italy is out of the competition?

Spaghetti Bolognese, Tortelloni, Tagliatelle: Everyone loves Italian pasta. But the website Taste Atlas has now modified one of its rankings: It explicitly compares only Central European pastas — that is, those that are not Italian — with each other. The result can also be seen for Germany.

Taste Atlas rankings are created by reader votes; There are many polls about the best, worst or even the worst dishes in Germany, Europe and the whole world. In the ranking of the best pasta in Central Europe, Käsespätzle and Kasspatzln dominate the top places. These are the 3 best pasta dishes in Central Europe:

1. Kasspatzel from Germany, Baden-Württemberg

German cheese spaetzle eventually took first place. A simple pasta dish that combines spaetzle with a creamy mixture of melted cheese. Spaetzle is made from a dough made from eggs, flour, milk and spices, and the cheese is often a melted mixture of varieties such as Edam, Gouda, Fontina or Emmental.

Pasta is usually served with grated cheese and caramelized onions. As a side dish there is a green salad, potato salad or applesauce.

Similar to the German Käsespätzle, there is Kasspatzln in Austria. Spaetzle is also made from a soft, slightly runny dough that is pressed over a spaetzle cutter, creating small pasta shapes.

Mountain or gray cheese is often used as cheese in this type. Caspatzlin is served with grated cheese and fried onions.

3. Swabian Maultaschen from Germany, Baden-Württemberg

A German dish also comes in third place: Swabian Maultaschen. They come from Baden-Württemberg and are traditional hearty pasta dumplings filled with minced meat, onions, spinach and bread.

Perfect for the cold winter months, this dish can be prepared in three different ways: sliced ​​and fried with eggs, cooked in broth, or garnished with onions and butter.

While two German pasta dishes made the top three, things got a little more varied in places 7 to 10. Here's the full ranking:

1. Cheese noodles From Germany, Baden-Württemberg
2. Kaspatzlen From Austria, Tyrol
3. Swabian ravioli From Germany, Baden-Württemberg
4. Fuži s bijelim istarskim tartufom From Croatia, Istria: Fuži Istrian pasta is combined with butter and truffles.
5. Lazanki From Poland: Łazanki is the Polish and Belarusian name for a variety of pasta. The pasta dough is shaped into squares, cooked, and then mixed with fat and onions. It is often combined with meat and cabbage.
6. Surlice as škampima From Croatia: The specialty comes from the island of Krk and consists of Croatian pasta Šurlice mixed with onions, garlic, customers, tomato juice, white wine and broth.
7. Schlotzkrapfen From Austria, Tyrol: Mezzelune or Schlutzkrapfen is a special type of pasta popular in Italy and Tyrol. The pasta looks like crescents and is filled with different ingredients.
8. Fusis Tartophyma From Croatia, Istria: This dish once again combines the famous Fuji noodles with truffles.
9. Älplermagronen From Switzerland: This rustic Swiss dish can be translated as “alpine pasta” and consists of pasta, cheese, onions, and potatoes. However, there are many variations of the dish.
10. Túrós csusza From Hungary: The classic Hungarian dish combines pasta with traditional toro cheese and crispy bacon. Sometimes cheese is mixed with sour cream to make the sauce.