Silken smooth or rustically lumpy, mashed potatoes rank high among the world’s comfort foods. But no version is as wickedly rich or sensuously addictive as aligot, a fonduelike specialty of the Auvergne region in south central France.
Preparation begins with starchy potatoes that are cooked and pureed with butter, crème fraîche, and a hint of crushed garlic, and then dramatically finished at the table in a copper saucepan. There, the concoction is whipped and stirred, and whipped and stirred again, along with soft curds of the cow’s milk Cantal or Salers cheese or the acidic, nutty Tomme de Laguiole.
As a wooden spoon is worked through the mixture, it becomes elastic and stretchy. A skillful practitioner can turn the process into a veritable floor show, pulling the potato-andcheese-coated spoon high above the pot before dipping it back again, in an act reminiscent of mozzarella production.
As elegantly as it is presented now, aligot is believed to have originated as a shepherds’ dish, and it was much favored by supplicants stopping to rest overnight in the Auvergne en route to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. This delicious dish often accompanies roasted meats, and it is traditionally topped with darkly pungent, crisp-skinned blood sausage, as it is at L’Ambassade d’Auvergne in Paris.
Where:
- In Paris, Ambassade d’Auvergne, tel 33/1-42-72-31-22, ambassade-auvergne.com;
- In New York, Minetta Tavern, tel 212-475-3850, minettatavernny.com;
- In Los Angeles, Spago, tel 310-385-0880, wolfgangpuck.com.
Further information and recipe: Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins (1996);
cookstr.com (search aligote).
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