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Älplermagronen
Alpine herders' macaroni with potatoes, cheese, golden onions and apple sauce
Älplermagronen is what dairymen cooked in the summer huts of central Switzerland, from Uri to the Bernese Oberland, using what they carried up and what the cows gave: pasta, potatoes, cream and their own cheese. Today it is a fixture of mountain restaurants and a quick weeknight supper across German-speaking Switzerland, always eaten with a bowl of warm apple sauce (Apfelmus) on the side, the sweet-sour fruit cutting the rich cheese. Many versions scatter bacon over the top; this one leaves it out and leans on a heap of slow-browned onions for depth. Use cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: cook the potatoes and pasta in the same pot, adding the macaroni once the potatoes are half done, so they finish together and the starchy water helps the sauce cling.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the macaroni
For the onions
For the apple sauce
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Make the apple sauce first: put 1 ⅓ lb cooking apples, ¼ cup water, 2 tbsp sugar, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp lemon juice in a small pan, cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes, until the apple collapses when pressed. Mash roughly or leave chunky, and keep warm.
15 minStep 2: Melt 1 ⅜ oz butter in a wide frying pan over a medium heat, add 3 onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 20–25 minutes. Lower the heat if they catch; you want soft, sweet, deep golden-brown onions, not crisp black edges.
25 minStep 3: While the onions cook, bring a large pan of water to the boil with 1 tbsp salt. Add 14 oz floury potatoes and boil for 6 minutes.
6 minStep 4: Add 10 ½ oz macaroni or short tube pasta to the same pan and cook for the time on the packet, until the pasta is just al dente and the potatoes are tender. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water, then drain.
10 minStep 5: Warm ¾ cup single cream and ½ cup milk in the empty pan over a low heat. Tip back the pasta and potatoes and stir in 7 oz Appenzeller or mountain cheese, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and ½ tsp black pepper until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce, about 2 minutes. Loosen with a splash of cooking water if it tightens. Don't boil it, or the cheese turns grainy.
2 minStep 6: Spoon into warm bowls, pile the golden onions on top and serve the apple sauce alongside, warm or cool.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does älplermagronen take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of floury potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of single cream?
- Half double cream, half milk.
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