Käsknöpfle

Käsknöpfle is a dish of small egg dumplings, boiled and layered with melted mountain cheese and crispy fried onions. It is a traditional dish of Liechtenstein, and it is also made in neighbouring Austria. The name is German: Knöpfle means little buttons, and Käs means cheese, which is the heart of the dish.

What it really is

The dough is flour, egg and water, beaten until soft and sticky. It is pressed through a perforated board or a press into boiling salted water, where the small dumplings cook in a few minutes. They are drained, then layered in a hot dish with mountain cheese, which melts into the warm dumplings, and finished with onions fried in butter until crisp. The cheese gives the dish its flavour and the onions give it the crunch. It is a main course, not a side.

How it's served

• Hot, straight from the dish, with the cheese still soft and stretching.
• As a main course, in a bowl or on a plate, often with a green salad alongside.
• Eaten with a fork, with the crispy onions on top rather than mixed in.

How to write it on the menu

• Name it Käsknöpfle, state the cheese (mountain cheese), and give the portion size.
• Flag wheat (the flour), eggs and milk (the cheese and butter).
• Say that it is vegetarian and contains no meat or fish, so guests who ask get an immediate answer.
• Tell vegans that it is not suitable, because the onions are fried in butter and the dish contains egg and cheese.
• Say whether the onions are served on top, since guests often ask for them crisp.