Aligot (Mashed Potatoes With Cheese) Recipe (2024)

Look, I hate to be a pedant but, though I'm sure that Comté or Gruyère makes a lovely dish, it just isn't Aligot. Aged cheeses might well negate the role of an Aligot, i.e. to serve as a comforting, but unassuming backdrop for a more assertive dish, such as a daube. I live in Paris (and lived in Aligot country for more than 20 years) so I'm not sure what would be the best substitute available in the USA. Still, a mozzarella would come closer to the original than an aged cheese.

Are these proportions correct? One pound of russet potatoes is really only one single potato, at least in San Francisco grocery stores. Mixing a single potato with that much cheese, cream and butter seems off, but maybe it's more fondue-like and less mashed-potato-like than I'm thinking...

It does take longer to boil the potatoes whole, still in their skins, but it keeps them from getting water logged, especially when cooked to extreme softness. Then as mentioned in the article, you peel them while they're hot (hold in a clean kitchen towel or oven mitt). Makes for less need to dry the riced potatoes over direct heat, less chance to scorch them.

Enough already! This recipe, like countless others, are introducing all to foods we may never get to enjoy in its local region. However, we get to experience a taste, a technique, or even a failure, which we did not have a clue about.I subscribe for unique recipes I don’t know and hope maybe I will experience the taste in real. If I get to go to central France, at least I will have some sort of clue what Aligot is. I bet I will go to 2 places in France and the Aligot will taste different.

O mon Dieu--will some of us never get OVER ourselves?! What we have here is a delicious recipe for mashed potatoes and cheese, not a UN Security Council-worthy debate on which cheese, whether to use/purchase a ricer, the "joys" of truffle oil, la géographie française, etc., ad infinitum!That said, I'll add only that Yukon Golds do work much better than russets.

Sorry, but Comté is produced a long way from Laguiole, in the Jura, just northwest of Switzerland. Perhaps you're thinking of Cantal?

Went to a local cheese specialty shop and they recommended the French Comte. So, half a pound. Hit the potatoes with the Instant Pot, eight minutes pressure and quick release. Then into the ricer. Spritz the grater with non-stick spray, grate the cheese, a stick of butter and the cream in the microwave about 45 seconds, temp out north of 140 and we're good. Came together really nicely, exactly as we expected. Thanks!

Aligot is traditionally made with Cantal jeune, young Cantal, which is allowed to mature for only 30 days, and very hard to find outside of France. The Cantal that is fairly available here is vieux, meaning it has matured past six months, and is therefore drier. If Gruyere or Compte are used, they should be as fresh as possible, but the taste and texture will be much different. Creme fraiche is also traditionally added to aligot.

And, I wonder if there is a sweet potato version of this ... certainly not authentic, but it could be scary-good. Must experiment. Sweets are healthier, but with all the cheese and butter, who am I kidding?

Heavenly. I add a grating of nutmeg to finish.

A lovely dish. Had it for the first time in Laguiole, France, in the mountain area where the comte cheese is produced from their unique breed of cows. Absolutely delicious. But oh so heavy. Enjoy, infrequently.

As to insisting on "authenticity," yes, it's important if you have historical/geographic purposes. Otherwise, so often, it's just immature snobbery. We've all heard people yapping about "authentic" banh mi - when we lived in Hanoi, it just meant "sandwich" and even "bread"/"flour." The great cuisines and cooks of the world have always borrowed from each other and adapted - sometimes improving - with new local ingredients. American Modern English is just as "authentic" as British Middle English.

Has anyone used creme fraiche instead of heavy cream? I think it would be pretty darn good!

Tomme Fraiche D'lubrac

Not worth making again. WAY too much butter and too rich—would have been adequate with half as much butter. Comte’s flavor a bit too neutral, needed a lot of salt and a little nutmeg to balance it.

Delicious, made with a simple white gruyere. Was stretchy when cooked but lost stretchiness after being help in a warmer at 200/250 F for several hours. Still delicious and light.

Use a softer cheese, parmesan or similar.

Surely this will really upset the purists, but I'm wondering: has anyone dared try this with cauliflower?

This turned out great. I really liked it. I used Swiss cheese. What's with all the negative comments about it not being 100%authentic? We're not in France, it's ok to substitute what we have access to to make the dish. Just like Indian food or any other international food. Be flexible. I enjoyed it and was glad to be able to make it.

can someone explain the need for using unsalted butter then adding salt to the dish? Will salted butter not work with adding more salt if needed?

I live in aligot country, at the junction of the Aveyron, Lot and Cantal departéments but I never make it, instead buying from people who make it in front of you on local markets. Though, the best aligot I've ever had came from my neighbour's kitchenI'd love Americans to enjoy aligot, but its traditional lait cru (unpasteurised) cheeses aren't allowed in the US and don't even travel well to the UKInstead explore the principles of aligot and create a US equivalent!

Seriously, nuke them until they are all but done and then bake them at 450 for 15 minutes. It is about the only thing I use a microwave for. Don't bother to oil them until you put them in the oven, it will muck up your microwave. You will get the crispiest skin with this method, in under 1/2 an hour. You can even par-nuke them, cool them and bake them later. I promise, you will thank me for the time and energy save, and the crispy skin.

Delicious! And I used the suggested comté/gruyère blend as not a single shop within 50 miles (80 km) of me carried tomme fraîche (I called the shops I didn't have time to visit). Sure, it might not be un authentique aligot, but that's a ridiculous hill to die on. I enjoyed making it, and more importantly eating it, given the resources that were available to me at the time.

I saw a film about aligot in process, using Raclette cheese melting on a special heater, so it is sliced off and stirred right into lightly boiled, peeled, potatoes, this at tableside, in the Alps. I just bought some Raclette at Trader Joes, in nice ready to melt slices and I was going to make some of this, right away. My take on this dish is, not like mashed potatoes at all, more like parboiled potatoes with fresh melted Raclette, it looked divine. The Raclette is tasty, full of flavor.

If I don't have a ricer, is it still worth making this dish? Is there an easy substitute? What happens if I just mask the potatoes?

Aligot is not from "central France." It's Auvergne with preferred Mona Lisa potatoes and non-ripe CANTAL or non-ripe Tomme. In a sense it's all difficult and easy. Make soft fondant potatoes (cooked very slowly in butter) then add crushed garlic, 1 TB bacon fat and sufficient milk to make a purée. Place the purée in a bain-marie, add the Cantal (or 600gm thinly sliced Laguiole cheese) and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the cheese is blended into a smooth flowing elastic purée.

It maybe good but aligot is made only with tomme fraîche de Cantal