Who doesn’t enjoy some traditional mountain cuisine? Often rich and moreish, it’s exactly the kind of food you need after working hard on the slopes, in the cold and at altitude.
To decide the top ten, ultimate Alpine dishes, we looked to the big five European ski destinations to determine the answer. After careful consideration, we choose two of the top dishes from each country.
If you’re looking to try a ski season, firstly, good choice and, secondly, trying some of these dishes beforehand is a great starting point to really capture the Alpine essence. So, checking them out now gives you a head start and will get you in the skiing mood. There’s links to recipes for each dish.
France
Tartiflette
We’re starting off with a very well-known Alpine dish, tartiflette. When researching for this article, tartiflette consistently came up as a ‘must try’ mountain meal. The dish hails from the Savoie Region in the French Alps and is a true authentic Alpine delicacy.
The dish is made with reblochon cheese, potatoes, lardons and onions arranged into layers in a large dish and baked in an oven until bubbling with a thin crispy top. To best accompany the tartiflette, the French would insist on a salad, gherkins and charcuterie, which we would agree with! Tartiflette is indulgent, rich and delicious and a must try if you’re in the French Alps! Recipe
Diot de Savoie
This second French dish also originates from the Savoie Region, clearly the people of the Savoie know what they’re doing when it comes to food!
Diot are pork sausages pronounced ‘deeyo’, they come in many varieties, the most common, natural and smoked. They’re made with fatty pork, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Although not sounding terribly exciting, they’re rich in flavour and incredibly moreish.
Diot de Savoie is a very popular dish in the French Alps consisting of natural diot in a thin white wine sauce with onions and served with potatoes, lentils or gratin. It’s scrumptious, packed with flavour and full of Alpine cuisine authenticity. Recipe
Austria
Beef Goulash
Goulash soup actually originates from Hungry but has become a beloved traditional dish in Austria and can be found in almost every Alpine restaurant. Austrian beef goulash however is quite different from the Hungarian version, it’s much thicker with a rich gravy more stew like and only contains beef and onions, unlike Hungarian goulash.
Beef Goulash cooks for around three hours, making the meat incredibly tender and the gravy full of flavour. The dish is the ultimate warming food and just what you’d fancy in front of a roaring fire after a long day on the mountain. Recipe
Kaiserschmarrn
This next Austrian dish is a sweet one. Kaiserschmarrn, also known as Emperors Mess, gets its name from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I who loved this desert, so much so they named it after him!
Kaiserschmarrn is a sweet pancake with rum-soaked raisins, torn into bite-size pieces and dusted with icing sugar. The pancake is light and fluffy: a carb lover’s dream and is traditionally served with a plum compote adding a complementary tartness to the sweet. Do you need any more persuasion?! Besides, if it’s good enough for an emperor, then it’s good enough for us! Recipe + Compote recipe
Germany
Schweinshaxe and Knödel
Schweinshaxe and Knödel is ham hock or ‘pork knuckle’ as it’s locally known, with bread dumplings. The schweinshaxe is cooked on a spit rotisserie making the skin crispy and salty but beautifully tender on the inside, so it falls of the bone. It’s flavoured with herbs and beer. The knödel (bread dumplings) are made from stale bread rolls, with onions, parsley and nutmeg for flavour, they’re the perfect moreish accoutrement.
Both parts of this dish are Bavarian specialities and severed everywhere in Bavaria, they’re a key part of Bavaria’s traditional beer culture. It’s a really hearty, traditional dish perfect to enjoy on a sun-soaked deck on the slopes. Recipe + Knödel recipe
Pichelsteiner
This next German dish is another typical, Bavarian Alpine meal; a meat and vegetable stew. Pichelsteiner is an old dish dating back to 1894, it was often cooked outside, providing an easy and tasty meal for local farmers and shepherds up the mountain.
The meat is a combination of beef, pork and mutton and paired with carrots, potatoes, leeks, cabbage and sometimes onion and celery. This simple dish is meant to warm numb fingers and toes, traditionally served piping hot on cold or rainy days. It really is the ultimate comfort food, just what’s needed on a freezing skiing day. Recipe
Switzerland
Basler Läckerli
Basler Läckerli are gingerbread biscuits. Their name, ‘Läckerli’, is a German word that literally translates as ‘delicious’, which says it all! Despite being a variation of the traditional European gingerbread biscuit, Basler Läckerli don’t contain any ginger. However, they’re sweet, spicy and have a bite. Hazelnuts and almonds provide said bite and honey, candied fruit peel, Kirsch and a variety of spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg are all key ingredients. The biscuits are glazed in a sugar icing for extra sweetness.
These sweet treats originate from the city of Basel where it is believed they’ve been making them since the Middle Ages. Basel lies like a gateway city to the Swiss Alps, hence the biscuits common occurrence in the mountains. They’re the perfect treat with a coffee in the sun. Recipe
Tarte Myrtilles
This dish might be more familiar to you. Tarte myrtilles is a real traditional Alpine desert born in the Alps. The main ingredient, Myrtilles or bilberries (like blueberries), are native to Swiss and French mountain meadows, so, locals have been utilising these berries for decades in their cooking. It’s an uncomplicated dish with a simple pâte sucrée base (sweet short pastry) that’s covered by a layer of crème patissière, with myrtilles layered on top in a dark, glistening mass.
The sweet and fruity tarte myrtilles is a must try on your next venture to the Alps, whether it’s summer or winter this desert is the perfect way to end a meal overlooking mountain views. Recipe
Italy
Mezzelune
Mezzelune, also known as Schlutzkrapfen, is a pasta dish from the South Tyrol region in Italy, home to the Dolomites. With the South Tyrol mountain range very close to the Austrian border, German and Italian are both widely spoken, meaning many Alpine dishes have an Italian and German name.
In Italian the word mezzelune translates to ‘half moon’ which describes the semi-circle shape of this pasta. Similar to ravioli, mezzelune is filled, the filling is spinach and curd cheese, also known as quark, and served in a brown butter sauce with chives and parmesan. What’s more to like than cheesy, buttery pasta?! Recipe
Hirschgulasch
Hirschgulasch is venison goulash, which is a kind of cross between soup and stew. It’s a rich, meaty, warming dish – just what’s needed to re-fuel on an icy day on the slopes.
Venison is a popular meat in the Italian mountains and used in many dishes, here it’s cooked in red wine with herbs and a variety of vegetables: carrots, onions, celeriac and porcini mushrooms. Juniper berries are also a key ingredient as they complement the venison beautifully. The dish is traditionally served with a cranberry compote and often soft polenta, which is found everywhere in Italian Alpine cuisine, here it’s great for soaking up the juices. Is your mouth watering too?! Recipe
So, there you have it, our take on the top 10 Alpine dishes. Hopefully they’ve whet your appetite and got your cookery mind buzzing! This article comes from The Chalet Company who provide fully catered ski holidays in Meribel, France and pride themselves on their top notch chalet food.