Vegan Älplermagronen – how the Swiss prepare Mac and Cheese

Hey there!

 

I’m finally back with a new recipe. I’m actually so sorry for not posting all week long, but I was literally in bed all week and I’m actually still not feeling that great, yet well enough to do some more cooking and be a little experimental. I actually really missed cooking during this week but every time I wanted to drag myself down to the kitchen to do some cooking I turned around halfway down the stairs and went back to bed. Well I guess one shouldn’t quite be climbing around in the kitchen trying to take photos of ones food from every angel possible with a forehead as hot you could fry an egg on it…

 

Well I guess you don’t really want to read about me moaning about how terrible I felt last week, so I skip over to the fun part on this blog, the cooking.

 

So, today I actually recreated a real Swiss classic, I’ve been craving this all week and today I finally felt fit enough to start another cooking action. I actually haven’t got the best memories of this dish, since we always had to eat it when we went to camp during primary school. And in that case the pasta was always overcooked, literally always!

However if it is prepared correctly this dish is a true delight, yet also loaded with cheese, milk and cream, so not all that compatible with a vegan diet. Here I have to add I am not actually vegan, I just like coming up with vegan versions of traditionally non-vegan dishes.

 

The dish I am talking about is the famous Älplermagronen, basically the Swiss version of the American Mac and Cheese. A dish consisting of pasta, potatoes, cheese, milk and onion. Well as you know Switzerland is famous for being country with long cold winters hence there’s no fresh veggies so you’ve just got to make do with the things you’ve got available.

 

I obviously just used normal pasta and potatoes. For the sauce though I created a cheesy tasting delight by combining almond milk, cashew butter, nutritional yeast and nutmeg. I also topped the whole thing with the inevitable caramelised onions and then I also added a Pumpernickel (German rye bread) crumble to give it a slightly crunchy crust and a fannythefoodie twist.

 

 

 

 

 

• 200g Penne
• 400g Potatoes
• 2dl almond milk
• 2tbs cashew butter
• 4tbs nutritional yeast
• a pinch of nutmeg
• salt
• pepper
• 1 slice of pumpernickel
• 2 onions
• olive oil

 

1. Peel your potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
2. Finely slice your onions.
3. Add some olive oil into a pan and add your onions, cover with a lid after about five minutes. Now let them caramelize over medium heat. This will take around 25 minutes and whenever your onions start sticking to the bottom of the pan add a splash of water, also cover the onions with a lid after about five minutes. Remove the onions from the pan when they’re done.
4. Meanwhile you can bring some water to a boil, when the water has come to a boil add the penne and the potato slices, boil until the pasta are cooked aldente and the potatoes are done too
5. When your pasta and potatoes are done drain them and then add the almond milk, nutritional yeast, cashew butter and nutmeg ad mix well. Also salt and pepper to taste
6. Transfer your pasta mixture into individual ramekins* crumble your pumpernickel over the pasta and also don’t forget to distribute your caramelized onion on top of everything
7. Put your individual pasta bakes into the oven at 180°C (top heat) for approximately 15 minutes.

 

Voila you just created an amazing vegan version of this traditional Swiss meal and trust me the end result is surprisingly close to the original. I personally think that this can totally keep up with a traditional Älplermagrone.

The sauce is not at all less creamy and by adding the nutritional yeast as well as the cashew butter you actually create this kind of cheesy flavour so you don’t even have to miss out on that part of a true Swiss dinner.

I just served my Älplermagrone with some homemade apple compote, that’s just how we Swiss like to enjoy it, yet if you prefer to not mix sweet and savoury you can totally just eat it on its own or maybe have a green salad and some spinach on the side. Really enjoy this delight with whatever floats your boat. It will taste delicious in any case.

 

So for all Swiss I’d say you should definitely try this twisted version of your favourite childhood classic and for anyone not familiar with the Swiss cuisine I recommend stepping out of your comfort zone and be a little adventurous. Well isn’t eating the best way to immerse into a different culture and who wouldn’t want to feel a little Swiss? I mean we all own either a bank or a chocolate factory or well if not we work for Rolex 😉

 

Bisous

Fanny, the foodie

 

 

 

 

 

 

*If you haven’t got some small ramekins on hand just use one regular sized casserole dish and put your entire mixture into one single dish.