A French cheesy potato mash that is so yummy!
Mashed potatoes with cheese is one of the oldest traditional dishes and well known in France as Aligot. It is quite simple to make with the right cheese and a good "beating"! If, there are leftovers make delicious potato pancakes from the notes section of the recipe card. Also, try French Potato Salad (no mayo here!), French Scalloped Potatoes (my name for Truffade), and Tartiflette (another scalloped potato version, but both recipes are much superior) 😉!
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❤️About This Recipe
The French have many recipes for the humble potato, but they manage to turn them into the most wonderful dishes.
From the Aveyron in the Midi-Pyrénées and is really a simple dish of really yummy cheesy potatoes that it is stretchy… !
And if you would like to try it for yourself at home, here is a very good recipe to satisfy all potato lovers!
⚜️What Are The Origins Of This Dish?
It is said that the origins of Aligot began with the monks who made the very first dish but used bread until the potato was introduced into France. They made the dish with their home-made bread and the local cheese to satisfy the hungry pilgrims who passed their way.
It is a dish that can be found throughout this region and you simply must try it if you ever visit this area. In fact it is fascinating to watch it being made.
🙌Similar Potato Recipes
I have so many scrumptious potato recipes I hope you will try them all. Start here with this one or if cheesy isn't your thing but you love taters mashed, then perhaps creamy garlic mashed potatoes or sauteed fondant potatoes will work better for you.
🤔What to Serve With This Dish?
Mashed potatoes with cheese is wonderful as an accompaniment to Peppered Steak or Sausage Recipe, Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce, or Braised Beef .
🍷What Wine To Serve?
Light-bodied reds will go well if you serve aligot with red meat. More about wine pairing.
📝Ingredients
- Starchy potatoes like Russet, Idaho and Yukon gold.
- Cheese that is stretchy like, Tomme for stretch, Gruyere for flavor, mozzarella for stretchiness, raclette stretchy, old cheddar for flavor, or any combination.
- butter, is very important for full bodies flavor.
- cream or crème fraiche, to make it extra rich.
- garlic, always on my list (you can add your favorite herb for flavor too like thyme, which is best to use when boiling the potatoes and discarding when potatoes are done.)
🔢How To Make This Humble Potato Recipe
- Peel and cook the potatoes in salted boiling water, or my friends favorite method is to cook them in their skins then peel them.
- Mash the potatoes well.
- Heat the cream and butter in a pan with the crushed garlic.
- Next, add the cheese pieces and heat until it is all melted, much easier to blend into the mashed potatoes this way.
- Add this creamy, cheesy mixture to the potatoes and mash really well (this is the most important part of the process, it really must be beaten well) until you have a consistency that is elastic in texture.
- Serve immediately very hot!
📖 Recipe
Pommes Aligot Mashed Potatoes With Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb potatoes/about 1 kilogram
- 10 ounce/1¼ cups cheese cut into small pieces (Tomme for preference or substitute with Gruyere for flavor mozzarella for stretchiness, raclette or old cheddar, or any combination.
- 2 oz ¼ cup butter
- 6 oz ¾ cup cream or crème fraiche
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- add herbs of your choice to potato water, then discard
- Salt
Instructions
- You can either peel or cook the potatoes in salted boiling water, or my friends favorite method is to cook them in their skins then peel them.
- Mash the potatoes well.
- Heat the cream and butter in a pan with the crushed garlic.
- Next, add the cheese pieces and heat until it is all melted.
- Add this creamy, cheesy mixture to the potatoes and mash really well (this is the most important part of the process, it really must be beaten well) until you have a consistency that is elastic in texture.
- Serve immediately, very hot.
- Traditionally it is served with good quality pork sausages, but it will go with a wide range of ingredients, including pork chops or even a good steak.
Notes
- Simply form the potato mixture into small cakes.
- Dust with flour.
- Gently fry for a few minutes on each side.
Did you make this & like it or not, let us know?!