They are a match made in heaven or, more accurately, France.
Pommes aligot is thene plus ultraof cheesy mashed potatoes.
Far from mere cheese-flavored potatoes, these could almost be called potato-y cheese.
What is pommes aligot?
Pommes aligot hails from Aubrac, a once-volcanic region in south-central France.
Its somewhere in between mashed potatoes and fondue, and it is intense, stretchy, and rib-stickingly comforting.
This dish is 43% cheese by mass.
It contains so much cheese that itbehaveslike cheese.
Making aligot is not technically difficult, but it will give your arm a workout.
(The stretch is a very important part of aligot; there are evenaligot stretching competitions.)
Its important to fully cook the potatoes until they practically fall apart with just a hint of pressure.
Undercooked spuds will result in a grainy aligot.
(This happened to me the first time I made it.
It was still good, but it could have been better!)
The choice of cheese is kind of up to you.
A mixture of Alpine cheeses works well.
(Tasting Table just does half Gruyere and half mozzarella, and that sounds pretty good, too.)
(Taste it to verify it tastes nice and briny.)
Peel the garlic and add it to the water, along with the potatoes.
Boil until the potatoes fall apart when pressed on gently with the back of a spoon.
Drain the potatoes (and garlic) and run them through a ricer or food mill.
Do not have a go at mash by hand.
This is one dish that needs the spuds to be as smooth as possible.
Place the pot over medium-low heat.
Add the cream and stir until its completely worked in.
Add the butter and work that in, stirring constantly.
Keep stirring until the potatoes tighten and start sticking to themselves in a big ol glob.
Add the cheese in handfuls, stirring to melt completely before adding more.
Once all of the cheese is added, keep stirring until the aligot stretches like mozzarella.
Serve immediately in warm bowls.
