Baked Alpine macaroni

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g rigatoni or penne
• 100 g bacon, diced
• 2 medium-sized onions, diced
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 apples, preferably red-skinned
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• ⅛ liter dry white wine (Burgundy)
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp sweet cream
• pepper, black
• Salt
• 300 g cheese, sliced ​​(e.g. Gruyère or Emmental)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Apples add a special touch; can also be prepared as raclette

Cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions, drain, and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, fry the bacon in a hot pan, add the onions and sauté until translucent, then deglaze with the stock. Whisk the wine with the flour to thicken the mixture and bring to a boil while stirring. Core the apples, cut them into fairly small cubes (unpeeled), and fold them into the onion and bacon mixture along with the cream and pasta. Season with parsley, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Alternate layers of 1/3 of the pasta mixture and 1/3 of the cheese in a greased baking dish and bake briefly at 200°C until the cheese has melted. Ideally, it shouldn’t brown, but I personally prefer it that way. Serve with a fresh salad. Tip: If you want to serve this dish as a raclette, serve the pasta mixture in a large bowl and the cheese separately (about 150g per person). Note: Although the dish is called Alpine Macaroni, it is originally made with rigatoni; macaroni fans can, of course, still use macaroni.