Alpine herder's pasta: macaroni cooked together with cubed potato and onion in cream, finished with melted Alpine cheese and crispy fried onions, served with stewed apple sauce on the side.

Aelplermagronen emerged in the high Alpine summer pastures of Uri, Schwyz and the central Swiss cantons in the 19th century. Macaroni reached Switzerland via the Gotthard rail in the 1880s; herders, who already had potatoes, onions, cream and the local hard cheese stockpiled in their alpine huts, combined the lot in a single pot over the wood fire. The Apfelmus (stewed apple) on the side is the Alpine balance: a sweet-sour acidic counterpoint to the rich pasta. In Zurich, Le Dezaley and Restaurant Swiss Chuchi keep it on the cold-weather menu; in mountain restaurants from October to April it is the standard hut lunch.

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Make it at home

Serves 450 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 400g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • 300g elbow macaroni or short maccheroni
  • 1 tsp sea salt for the cooking water
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 2 large yellow onions: 1 finely diced, 1 thinly sliced for the crispy topping
  • 200ml double cream
  • 200ml whole milk
  • 200g Bergkaese (Swiss Alpine cheese, Gruyere, Appenzeller, Sbrinz, or a mixture), coarsely grated
  • Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, freshly grated nutmeg
  • For the apple sauce: 4 cooking apples (peeled, cored, diced)
  • 60g caster sugar
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 50ml water
  • Sunflower oil for frying the onion topping

Method

  1. Make the apple sauce first: combine all apple sauce ingredients in a small pot, simmer 12 to 15 minutes until soft, mash with a fork for a coarse texture, remove cinnamon stick. Cool to room temperature.
  2. For the crispy onion topping: heat 5 tbsp sunflower oil in a small pan, add the thinly sliced onion with a pinch of salt, and fry on medium-low for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tsp salt. Add the cubed potatoes and boil 5 minutes.
  4. Add the macaroni and continue cooking until both are tender, about 8 to 9 minutes more (the macaroni should be just al dente).
  5. While they cook, melt the butter in a wide deep pan, add the diced onion and cook gently 8 minutes until soft and translucent.
  6. Pour in the cream and milk to the onions, warm to a low simmer.
  7. Drain the pasta and potatoes well; tip into the cream pan. Toss to coat thoroughly.
  8. Off heat, fold in the grated Alpine cheese until it melts into a glossy sauce coating the pasta. Season with salt, plenty of black pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg.
  9. Spoon into deep warm bowls, scatter the crispy fried onions over the top.
  10. Serve immediately with a generous spoon of the cool apple sauce on the side; the diner alternates between savoury bites and the sweet-sour apple.

Editor tip. The Apfelmus is not a garnish but an essential structural counterpart; without it the dish reads as too rich. A blend of two cheeses (one harder, one softer) gives the best sauce: Gruyere plus Appenzeller is the classic combination.

Common allergens: Gluten, Milk.