Älplermagronen (Alpine Macaroni with Potatoes, Cheese and Applesauce) 🧀

Method

1. 1

   Boil potatoes 8 min in salted water, add pasta for its last 8-10 min — they finish together, that's the peasant economy of the dish. Drain, keeping a cup of the starchy water.

2. 2

   While they boil, fry onions in butter low and patient 15 min to deep gold crispness (Röstmagi). Do not rush; burnt onions are a crime, soft onions are a betrayal.

3. 3

   Return pasta and potatoes to the warm pot with milk (and a splash of pasta water), toss off heat so it coats rather than swims.

4. 4

   Stir in most of the grated cheese, pepper, a scrape of nutmeg; the residual heat melts it glossy. Loosen with pasta water if tight.

5. 5

   Turn into a warmed dish, snow the remaining cheese and fried onions over.

6. 6

   Serve one spoon of cold applesauce per portion, on top — hot, salty, creamy, then that tart cold shock. That contrast is the entire point of Älplermagronen.