Swiss Alpine Macaroni

Alpine macaroni in a red bowl with a side of applesauce.

No ratings yet

Tubular pasta nestled in a light cream sauce with Swiss Gruyere cheese, topped with caramelized onions and crispy bacon; served with applesauce

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Course: Entree, Side Dish

Cuisine: Austrian, German, Swiss

Servings: side dish; 4 as an entree

Calories: 835kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Ingredients

1 pound tubular pasta: rigatoni, penne, ziti
2 large yellow onions thinly sliced , )See Recipe Notes below
6 slices bacon , cooked See Recipe Notes below
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons oil
3 cups Swiss Gruyere , grated (See Recipe Notes below
1 cup chicken broth or stock
¾ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
applesauce

Instructions

Slice the onions, fill a large pot of water with water, preheat the oven to 350℉
In a large stockpot, add butter and oil; add sliced onions and coat them well; cook on medium heat stirring occasionally; meanwhile, put the bacon strips on a baking sheet and cook on the middle rack and cook till crisp
2 large yellow onions thinly sliced, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons oil, 6 slices bacon

The caramelized onions will take about 35-45 minutes; the bacon will take about 15-25 minutes; if you start these at the same time, the dish will be ready when the onions are fully caramelized.

In a large saucepan on medium heat add chicken broth, heavy cream, nutmeg, garlic powder and white pepper
1 cup chicken broth or stock, ¾ cup heavy cream, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente; drain and return drained pasta back to the stockpot you cooked it; turn the heat to simmer or very low. Ladle the cream/broth mixture into the warm pasta and gently combine; allow to simmer 2-3 minutes (this ensures the warm pasta absorbs the creamy liquid)
1 pound tubular pasta: rigatoni, penne, ziti

It's important to add the cream sauce to the pasta when it's warm; Why? It absorbs the flavors better than cold pasta.

Add shredded cheese and stir gently; scoop pasta into a high walled vessel (a ramekin or small soup tureens); garnish with crumbled bacon and caramelized onions; if you want you can sprinkle more cheese over the top. Serve with applesauce.
3 cups Swiss Gruyere, applesauce

Notes

About the onion:

If you're gonna put caramelized onions on top of the macaroni, get the onions start first because they take a good 45-minutes. If you don't want caramelized onions, you can use fried onions or omit the onions completely.

About the bacon:

If you're gonna cook bacon, get it started when you start the onions. I cook mine in the oven on a wire rack at 350°F until crisp. You can use pre-cooked bacon if you like.

About the cheese:

A half pound of Gruyere (when shredded on the large grate) yields about 2 cups shredded. This recipe calls for 3 cups of grated cheese. So you'll need about a block of cheese that's about ¾ of a pound.

Overview of the timing of this recipe

I'm including this because it's important the pasta is warm when you pour the cream sauce over it. If you caramelize onions, the recipe will take as long as that takes, so work backwards on your timing so everything will be hot when you serve it.

Pasta: on high, takes 9-12 minutes to boil and 9-14 minutes to cook so about 18-26 minutes

Caramelized onions: 45 minutes so, start your boiling water for the pasta about 26 minutes before the onions are done

Bacon: takes about 20-25 minutes; get the bacon in the oven right after you get the onions started; keep an eye on the bacon and when its done just let it sit in the oven until it's cool enough to crumble.

I did not add any salt because Gruyere is inherently salty; add salt to taste after you combine the pasta, cream and cheese.

Nutrition