10 Dishes to Try on Your Alpine Ski Trip
Few activities work up an appetite like skiing and snowboarding.
Add low temperatures and the rigours of the après ski, and your body will be craving high-calorie foods that energise and comfort in equal measure.
Mercifully, the Alpine folks of France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria have created a smorgasbord of amazing dishes that are worth visiting the Alps for in themselves.
Here are 10 of the most exciting dishes to try on your Alpine winter sports trip…
Fondue
The famous cheese sauce dipper
Cheese is a central ingredient in Alpine dishes - and Fondue is the cheesiest dish of all.
Indeed, it's basically just a cheese sauce consisting of Emmental and Gruyère, melted with a splash of white wine or kirsch (cherry brandy).
At its simplest, it's served with bread for dipping.
Considering how straightforward (albeit delicious) the finished product is, it's surprising how much specialised equipment is used in traditional fondue making: a cheese stand with a burner (called a rechauds) and a heavy fondue pot (called a Caquelon).
Visit a restaurant for the full experience. However, if you are self-catering and want to save money, you can just use a heavy-bottom pan and combine the cheese and wine on the stove.
Rosti
A huge hash brown
The Swiss rosti is the ultimate hash brown.
Also known as a Swiss potato cake, it was invented in the German-speaking part of the country
Consisting of potato, salt, and fat, the rosti proves that simplicity does not equate to 'blandness' - at least not in this case.
Served as a main dish or a side dish with eggs, ham and cheese, the rosti is incredibly versatile.
Fancy making one in your self-catering accommodation?
Simply par-boil some potatoes then chill them overnight. Next grate them and squeeze out any excess water. Heat some butter or oil in a pan, then press the grated potato into a circular shape. Brown each side on a low-medium heat.
In truth, while the recipe looks easy, it actually takes practice to make a good one.
Thankfully, you'll be able to find rostis in cafes and restaurants throughout the Swiss Alps.
Käsespätzle
Cheesy pasta
Three, two, one... start carb-loading!
This filling cheese-swamped beauty is perfect fuel for a demanding downhill odyssey.
At its best, it is simply spätzle (soft squiggly bits of pasta) drenched in Emmental and sprinkled with fried onions.
While Käsespätzle has started appearing on the menus of fancy London restaurants (often with unnecessary additions such as lobster), you'll find the very best in the Tyrolean mountains!
Raclette
Grilled cheese over meat or veggies
The raclette grill, with its top shelf for grilling meat and veggies, and its cheese-melting trays beneath, looks incredibly elaborate for a dish that is essentially cheese melted over potatoes!
However, you can’t argue with cheese and potatoes.
Besides, raclette is a very social experience. A group of diners will sit around the grill and help themselves to as much meat and veggies as they want, then slide out one of the cheese trays and deposit the tasty melted raclette over their plate.
This help-your-self communal eating is comparable to the Korean barbecue, where a table of people prepare their own food.
The Raclette grill takes its name from raclette cheese - a type of full-fat semi-hard cheese ideal for melting.
This extremely social dish is ideal for the party-centric Tignes resort.
Tartiflette
Potato, bacon, and cheese casserole
This irresistible French Alpine casserole is made by layering par-boiled potatoes, fried onions, fried bacon, cream sauce, and cheese - then baking it.
When it comes to cheese selection, gruyere is the go-to choice. Some also add slices of Camembert on top.
The tartiflette is hearty yet delicious, and could be the perfect dish to enjoy after a day carving down the mountains.
It is the good life - in a baking tray.
White wine or light red wine is often paired with tartiflette.
Croûte aux morilles
Morel mushrooms in a creamy sauce
Another French alpine winter warmer, this simple yet fabulous dish consists of morel mushrooms in a creamy sauce, served with crusty bread.
Garlic, shallots and white wine - staples in Gallic cuisine - are key to the delicious sauce.
You're most likely to see this vegetarian-friendly dish towards the end of the ski season, when the morel mushrooms are most abundant in the forests of Franche-Comté.
It's an easy meal to make it yourself catering apartment - if you can get your hands on enough morel mushrooms!
Wiener Schnitzel
Breaded, fried veal cutlet
Among the best-known of Austrian national dishes, the Wiener Schnitzel is extremely popular in the Alps.
A veal cutlet is breaded and fried, then served with anything from potatoes to vegetables.
The traditional Schnitzel uses very thin veal meat - just 4mm thick. This is lightly pounded, then rolled in flour, whipped eggs and breadcrumbs.
The classic Viennese version is served with potato and creamy cucumber salads.
Kaiserschmarrn
Fragments of sugar-dusted pancake
A firm favourite of Austria’s Franz Joseph I (hence the name), this comforting dessert consists of scraps of sugar-dusted pancake, heaped in a gluttonously delicious way - and served with applesauce.
Just when your day of skiing couldn’t get any better, you come back to your hotel to enjoy a plate of this.
Equally, if you've developed a bruised rear end in ski school, this could be the perfect way to improve your mood!
Mont Blanc (Montebianco)
Chestnut puree and cream
Chestnut, chocolate, and cognac puree is squirted out spaghetti-style, then piled high and topped with some Chantilly cream.
A unique and tastebud-blowing pudding that you must try before leaving!
Monte Bianco is served in restaurants and patisseries, especially in Chamonix.
Aligot
Cheesy mash
Just when you thought those Alpine folks couldn't come up with any more ways to combine loads of cheese with loads of potatoes, you discover this.
Aligot sees potato whipped with cheese, such as tomme, gruyère or comté, then combined with cream, butter and garlic.
Commonly served in the Auvergne region, aligot can be enjoyed with an entrecôte steak, or just a very big spoon!
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