Ingredients
The bake
- 300 gmacaroni or short elbow pasta
- 400 gfloury potatoes, in 2 cm cubes
- 300 mldouble cream
- 150 mlwhole milk
- 250 gGruyère or a mix of Gruyère and Appenzeller, grated
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspwhite pepper
- a good grating of nutmeg
Röstzwiebeln
- 2large onions, sliced into thin rings
- 40 gbutter
- 1 tbspplain flour
- a pinch of salt
To serve
- 400 gapple sauce, cold
Directions
- Start the onions first, as they take longest: cook them slowly in the butter over low-medium heat for 20–25 minutes, stirring, until deep brown and sweet. Toss with the flour and salt in the last 3 minutes so they crisp, then drain on paper.
- Boil the potato cubes in well-salted water for 6 minutes, then add the pasta to the same pan and cook until both are just tender — the potato should be soft at the edge and hold at the centre.
- Drain, keeping a mugful of the cooking water.
- Warm the cream and milk in the empty pan, then return the pasta and potato and fold in three quarters of the cheese off the heat, a handful at a time, so it melts into a sauce rather than seizing into strings.
- Season hard with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Loosen with the reserved water if it has gone tight; it should be loose, because it thickens in the oven.
- Tip into a buttered dish, scatter the rest of the cheese over and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 12–15 minutes, until bubbling and blistered on top.
- Pile the crisp onions over and serve with cold apple sauce on the side. The apple is not optional in Switzerland — the sharpness is what makes the richness bearable.
Technique
- Cook the potato and pasta in the same water. The starch it gives up is what binds the sauce.
- Add the cheese off the heat. Gruyère splits into oil and rubber if it boils.
- Floury potatoes, not waxy. They should partly break down and thicken the dish.
Substitutions
- Emmental or raclette cheese in place of Gruyère, though the result is milder.
- Half the cream replaced with more milk makes a lighter version, closer to what herdsmen actually ate.
Variations
- A version with speck or bacon fried with the onions.
- Made entirely on the hob, without the oven, which is the older way.
History
Alpine herdsman’s macaroni combines pasta, potato, cream and cheese and is eaten with apple sauce; factory pasta reached mountain dairies in the nineteenth century.
Frequently asked questions
What is Älplermagronen?
Älplermagronen is a main from Switzerland: alpine macaroni-potato-cheese bake served with applesauce. Alpine herdsman’s macaroni combines pasta, potato, cream and cheese and is eaten with apple sauce; factory pasta reached mountain dairies in the nineteenth century.
How long does Älplermagronen take to make?
Älplermagronen takes 20 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Älplermagronen?
Yes, within limits. Emmental or raclette cheese in place of Gruyère, though the result is milder. Half the cream replaced with more milk makes a lighter version, closer to what herdsmen actually ate.
What is the most important thing to get right in Älplermagronen?
Warm the cream and milk in the empty pan, then return the pasta and potato and fold in three quarters of the cheese off the heat, a handful at a time, so it melts into a sauce rather than seizing into strings.
