Älplermagronen (Alpine macaroni)
A swiss favorite, Älplermagronen combines pretty much everything you have at your disposal in your alpine chalet. It's the definition of comfort food for the Swiss.
Ingredients for 2
- ~150g (1/3 lb) bacon cubes
- 1 ½ onions (medium size)
- 200 g potatoes (firm/waxy)
- ½–1 l milk
- 200 g macaroni (dry weight)
- ~150g (1/3 lb) medium soft cheese. Appenzeller works best. Gruyère would be my go-to alternative
- ½ package apple sauce
- ½ tbsp butter (only if the bacon is not fatty enough)
Instructions
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Fry bacon cubes in pot (this pot will be used for everything so choose an appropriately large one).
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Cut onions into half-rings and let them sweat in the same pot. Add some butter if your bacon was not fatty enough.
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Peel potatoes and cut them into ~1 cm/half inch cubes.
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When the onions have become sufficiently cooked, add potatoes.
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Top everything with milk and let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes.
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Add macaroni and the remaining milk to cover everything. Most of the milk will be absorbed by the macaroni.
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Shred your cheese.
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A minute or two before the macaroni are done, add the shredded cheese into the pot. It should appear a bit too runny in the pot. While cooling it will increase in viscosity quite a bit. If the final texture is not creamy enough, it is most likely due to using the wrong cheese.
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Season to taste. (Needs quite a bit of salt). Nutmeg also works well here.
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Serve with apple sauce. Should be eaten together, not as a dessert.