I wasn’t even thinking of making this dish until I stumbled across a famous foreign cooking magazine (I won’t name it), which featured an aligot recipe that made me want to scream ! Not only did they use the wrong French cheese, but they didn’t understand what makes this dish particular: the texture ! Aligot is not just a mashed potato with grated cheese in it !!
It is “lighter” than mashed potato but still creamy, and the cheese in it is there to make the smooth mashed potato become super-stretchy (a bit like a cheese fondue without the strong cheese smell): in French, we say a good “aligot doit faire le ruban” (“should make the ribbon”), and we even call this dish the “friendship ribbon” .

Aligot originates from l’Aubrac (center and south of France), also known for its cheeses called tomme de Laguiole, or tomme d’Auvergne, or tomme fraîche. Tomme cheeses are usually made from the skim milk left after the cream is removed to make butter, hence the low fat content of the tommes (20-45%)…and the subtle cheese smell (cheddar is strong compared to tommes !). Aligot is all about subtlety…and that’s good because it is usually served with a stronger smoked sausage (saucisse de Toulouse).

Tomme fraîche de l'Aubrac, potatoes and garlic

Aligot is a simple recipe, but it is not that easy to make !
First, make the mash (even the way French and English people boil their potatoes is different* ): you need to boil your potatoes with a clove of garlic to impart…a subtle garlic presence (that you can pimp afterwards with raw grated garlic if you don’t have enough of it). After adding butter, milk and / or cream** to make the mash itself, the secret to “make the ribbons” is to always stir in the same direction (clockwise or anti-clockwise) with a wooden spoon, until the magic stretch effect happens (some families stir with a figure 8 motion). Believe me, both your arms will remember it !

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