Main Course
Sarner Älplermagronen
Swiss Alpine Macaroni and Cheese
Quick to make and heavenly: pasta and potatoes baked under a creamy onion and cheese sauce. A vegetarian classic.

Zutaten
IngredientsTick off ingredients as you go.
Nährwerte
Nutrition · per serving
| Energy | 3612 kJ / 865 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 46 g |
| of which saturates | 28 g |
| Carbohydrate | 75 g |
| of which sugars | 6.2 g |
| Fibre | 7.4 g |
| Protein | 35 g |
| Salt | 1.4 g |
Estimate for the original amounts, per serving. Salt added to taste is not included. Calculated from the Swiss Food Composition Database (V7.1, FSVO).
Zubereitung
Directions- 1
Peel the potatoes, cut them into small pieces and pre-cook for 15 minutes. Then cook the pasta together with the potatoes until done.
- 2
Peel the onions, cut them into strips and sauté in butter until translucent. Add the cream and stir in a third of the cheese until it melts into a smooth sauce.
- 3
Season the potatoes and pasta with salt and pepper, mix with the remaining cheese and place in a casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce on top and bake at 160 °C for 10 minutes.
Tipp · Serving
Sweet applesauce goes well with classic Älplermagronen.
En Guete!
Bon appétit · Buon appetito · Bun appetit · Enjoy your meal
First published in the Arizona Swiss Society's Valley Echo newsletter, Spring 2023.
A bit of history
Geschichte
Where Sarner Älplermagronen comes from, gathered from reliable sources such as the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland inventory.
Switzerland Tourism describes Älplermagronen as a kind of gratin of potatoes, macaroni, cheese, cream and onions, with stewed apple on the side. The pasta in it came late to Swiss kitchens. The Culinary Heritage of Switzerland records that the monastery of Disentis bought a press for making macaroni in 1731, but pasta long remained a luxury: in the 1870s barely a quarter of the population knew it. Italian immigration from that decade helped make it popular, it spread widely after the First World War, and by the 1930s it was eaten throughout the country. When Obwalden was guest canton at Zurich's Sechseläuten in 2014, it served Älplermagronen as a specialty of the region.
Sources
- Hörnli / Cornettes / Cornetti · Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz
- Typical Swiss food · Switzerland Tourism
- Sechseläuten: Älplermagronen aus Obwalden · Schweizer Bauer
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