Tyrolean Wine Noodles: Grandma's Christmas Recipe

Admittedly, it's been many years since I last had wine noodles. I almost forgot about them – what a pity! I associate Grandma's wine noodles with a few of my fondest childhood memories: how the family gathered around the table during Christmas time and the adults toasted with mulled wine while we children sipped on sweet berry juice. Or the many times we stumbled in frozen after sledding, and the wine noodles brought warmth back into our bodies. Especially this winter, where we see our grandparents too little, it feels good to get closer through recipes.

Wine noodles are a really great dish: they are super easy to make, ready in just 30 minutes, completely without fuss and lengthy ingredient lists. They are down-to-earth and honest. Plus, there's homemade mulled wine to go with it! What more is there to say? So let's get cooking!

For adults, the wine noodles are traditionally served with homemade mulled wine. Of course, this is nothing for children. Therefore, for the little ones, there are noodles with berry juice. Warm raspberry juice tastes particularly good, and most children also enjoy grape juice, blackberry juice, or strawberry juice. There are no rules here; the main thing is that it’s made from berries.

The preparation of the wine noodles is done in a few steps and is at egg boiling level. However, for the noodles to not only taste like grandma's but also look like them, a bit of practice is necessary. Similar to rolling potato noodles, rolling requires a little bit of finesse. If you lack this, the noodles might turn out a bit... well, unfortunate looking. By the way, they shouldn't be too thick – "about finger-width" is what my grandma always said. But in the end, appearance doesn't really matter; they just have to taste good.

For the basic pasta dough, bring the milk to a boil in a pot and lightly salt it. Then stir in the butter and sugar. Sprinkle in the semolina and cook thickly while stirring constantly. Be careful not to let the semolina burn. After that, let it sit for a while. Finally, separate the eggs and mix the semolina with the egg yolk. Now it's time to shape the dough. Once the mixture has cooled down a bit, form it into a large roll. Cut the roll into slices and roll them into pasta about the thickness of a finger. Tip: this works particularly well if you dampen your hands a bit beforehand, as it makes it easier to shape the mixture. Next, prepare a bowl with egg whites and another with breadcrumbs. Dip the noodles in the egg whites and roll them in the breadcrumbs. Heat the lard in a pan and fry the breaded noodles until golden brown.

Put all the ingredients for the mulled wine together in a pot. Tip: If you put the spices together in a tea bag, it will be easier to remove them later. Then slowly heat the mulled wine. It is better not to boil the mulled wine so that the alcohol doesn't completely evaporate and the aroma of the spices remains. Serve the noodles, pour the mulled wine or warm berry juice over them, and serve. Enjoy your meal!