Aligot

Name: Aligot
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes; 1.5 tsp salt; 2 clove garlic; 60 g butter; 150 ml crème fraîche; 400 g tomme fraîche; 0.25 tsp white pepper

Cheesy garlic mashed potato

Aubrac's stretchy cheese and garlic mashed potato (aligot de l'Aubrac)

Features:Vegetarian

Kid friendly

Cuisine:

French

High on the Aubrac plateau, where Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère meet, aligot was once the meal monks gave to pilgrims on the road to Santiago. Today it is beaten in huge copper pans at village fêtes and buron farm restaurants around Laguiole, then lifted high on a wooden spoon in long, glossy ribbons before it is served beside sausages or, for a vegetarian table, a big green salad and roasted mushrooms. It is a mash of floury potato, butter, cream and garlic, worked with young tomme fraîche until it stretches like mozzarella. Tomme fraîche is made with animal rennet; a mix of vegetarian mozzarella and a vegetarian mild cheddar gives a similar stretch. Chef's tip: keep beating in a figure of eight once the cheese goes in; the stretch only comes with steady work.

Total time: 50 min
Difficulty: medium
Serves: 4

One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves4

2 ¼ lb potatoesa floury variety, peeled and cut into even chunks
1 ½ tsp salt
2 clove garliccrushed to a paste
2 ⅛ oz butter
¾ cup crème fraîche
14 oz tomme fraîchethinly sliced, or half vegetarian mozzarella and half vegetarian mild cheddar
¼ tsp white pepper

Shop this recipe on Amazon

What you'll need

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (3)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/6 done

Step 1: Put 2 ¼ lb potatoes in a pan of cold water with 1 ½ tsp salt, bring to the boil and simmer for 18–20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
22 min
Step 2: Drain well, return to the pan and dry over a low heat for 1 minute. Pass through a ricer or mash until completely smooth. Common mistake: using a food processor or blender, which turns the potato gluey before the cheese is even in.
3 min
Step 3: Put the pan over a low heat and beat in 2 clove garlic, 2 ⅛ oz butter and ¾ cup crème fraîche with a wooden spoon until smooth and hot.
3 min
Step 4: Add 14 oz tomme fraîche in three handfuls, beating hard in a figure-of-eight after each, until it melts in.
5 min
Step 5: Keep beating over the low heat for 5–8 minutes more, until the mash turns glossy and pulls away from the spoon in long, elastic ribbons when you lift it. Season with ¼ tsp white pepper and taste for salt.
8 min
Step 6: Serve at once, straight from the pan; aligot stiffens as it cools.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 620 kcal
Protein: 24 g
Carbs: 40 g
Fat: 40 g
Fibre: 4 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does aligot take?: About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?: Yes. It has no meat or fish.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of potatoes?: Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
What can I use instead of garlic?: ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

TacachoMashed roasted green plantain balls

Tacacho is the breakfast of the Peruvian Amazon, from Tarapoto to Iquitos: green plantains roasted over coals, mashed with fat and salt and shaped into balls. There it comes with cecina (smoked pork) and is mashed with lard and crackling; this vegan tacacho uses good oil and a pinch of smoked paprika for the same savoury, smoky depth. The balls are dense, chewy and starchy, crisp at the edges where the plantain charred, and they are eaten hot with a fiery chilli sauce or alongside stews. Use plantains that are fully green and firm. Chef's tip: mash the plantains while they are still very hot; as green plantain cools its starch sets and it won't bind into a smooth ball.

35 min

Peruvian Sides

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Baked cream potatoes

Thin potato slices and onion baked in fresh cream with plenty of garlic and coarse black pepper until tender and browned at the edges. Serve as a side dish with pizza or pasta, or as a snack with chilli and tomato sauce.

55 minSides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gobi matar (cauliflower and peas)

In Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, winter means cauliflower and fresh peas, and gobi matar is what fills countless school and office dabbas between November and February. It is cooked dry, so the florets brown a little at the edges, sweetened by the peas and sharpened by plenty of ginger. The mistake is cooking the cauliflower covered with water until it is soft and smells of cabbage; steam it briefly in its own moisture, then fry it uncovered. Chef's tip: cut the florets so they have one flat side; that face sits on the pan and browns while the rest steams tender.

30 min