The aligot recipe, step by step

Making aligot is not complicated, but it takes time, patience and an arm that doesn't complain. Here is the traditional recipe for four people. Allow about forty minutes of preparation and twenty of cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of mashing potatoes
• 400 g of fresh tome from the Aubrac (or from Laguiole)
• 200 g of thick crème fraîche
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cook them with the garlic in salted water, as for mashed potatoes.
2. Drain, remove the garlic cloves and put the potatoes through a ricer.
3. Meanwhile, cut the fresh tome into thin slices.
4. Put the mash back on very low heat with the crème fraîche.
5. Add the tome little by little, always stirring in the same direction so as not to break the strands. The tome must melt.
6. Keep going until the aligot stretches and comes away from the sides of the pan. Serve straight away.

Mistakes to avoid

• Stirring in every direction. You break the strands and the aligot no longer stretches.
• Heating too much. The cheese may separate. Keep the heat very low.
• Swapping the fresh tome for another cheese. It may be good, but it won't quite be aligot any more.
• Serving it lukewarm. It sets quickly. The plates should wait for the aligot, not the other way round.

What to serve it with

A good sausage, ham, confit or a roast, and a green salad to cut through it all.

To tell whether an aligot is a success, see how to spot a real aligot.