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Not so for the skier. The skier — or any of that pink-cheeked breed of winter sports enthusiasts — can eat what she darn well pleases. The problem, often, is packing in enough sustenance to get through a day on the slopes or to refuel afterward.
There is, of course, no shortage of calorie-rich foods here in the land of plenty. But a day spent gamboling in the great outdoors deserves a special meal. And what better place to draw inspiration for such a meal than the chalet-studded Alps, the birthplace of alpine skiing as we know it today?
If you’re lucky enough to ski the Alps, you’ll undoubtedly have a chance to sample a traditional dish called kasnocken (also known by numerous other names, depending on the region), a heap of freeform dumplings blanketed in fried onions and cheese, served in virtually every Alpine hut and resort.
If, like most of us, you’re stuck here in the States for the winter, you can easily make this cozy cousin of mac-and-cheese yourself with some basic ingredients and a tolerance for trial-and-error cooking. And the best part is, here in the Upper Valley, you have access to locally made cheeses inspired by the distinctive cheeses of the Alps. Cheese snobs predict, by the way, that alpine cheeses such as Gruyere will be kind of a big deal in 2019.
In trying my hand at kasnocken, I selected a wedge of Tarentaise cheese from Thistle Hill Farm in Pomfret. Named for a breed of cattle indigenous to the Tarentaise valley in France, the cheese is produced in the alpine tradition, using only milk from cattle raised on the premises, with an emphasis on grazing practices. I found it on sale at the Lebanon Co-op for $17.99 per pound. Complex and piquant, it dominated the dish, but I wouldn’t call that a bad thing. It’s a light cheese in terms of fat content and not overly creamy, so the three main components read as plot and subplots rather than one overwhelming mass.
The rest of the ingredients in kasnocken — flour, eggs, milk, butter, onion and salt — are things you probably have in your pantry at home, helping to justify the $18 splurge on artisan cheese. If you still can’t stomach the price, try a simple Gruyere.
Making the dumplings is easy and fun, but don’t expect to get it right the first time. According to Austrian chefs who churn out kasnocken for the masses, achieving the right consistency takes practice. My first kasnocken dumplings, made by pressing the pancake-like batter through a large-holed cheese grater into a pot of boiling water, came out looking surprisingly similar to the photos I’d found on the web. The texture, however, was a bit soft for my liking. Next time I’ll try for a slightly firmer, chewier dumpling by tinkering with the amount of flour and length of cooking time.
If you or your GI tract is not a fan of large piles of onions, no problem. Kasnocken sans onions is still kasnocken. You can sprinkle it with some fresh chives for a bit of onion-y pizzazz.
For an apres-ski with true Austrian flair, wash your kasnocken down with some jagatee: black tea spiked with strong Austrian rum.
Kasnocken
Recipe from Tara’s Multicultural Table (tarasmulticulturaltable.com).
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 cups alpine-style cheese such as Gruyere, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the flour, a little a time, until just combined. Let sit for 20 minutes. Cook onions in butter in a large skillet until golden brown.
Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Pour about half the batter at a time into a colander with large holes, pressing it through the holes with the back of a wooden spoon. (I didn’t have a colander, so I poured just a little at a time through a cheese grater with large holes. This worked fine since I only made half a batch, but might become time consuming if you’re making a whole or double batch.) The drops of batter should form into little dumplings as they hit the water. Cook until the dumplings float to the top, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove dumplings with a strainer, drain well and place in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining batter. Top with the shredded cheese and onion. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6 people with ordinary appetites. Double if your crew has been on the slopes all day.
Sarah Earle can be reached at searle@vnews.com and 603-727-3268.