Aligot — Potato Purée with Stretchy Cheese and Garlic

Have ready a wide, heavy-bottomed pot with a capacity of 4–5 l, a small saucepan, a colander, a potato ricer, a sturdy wooden spatula, and a kitchen thermometer. Weigh out 1000 g already peeled potatoes, cut them into pieces about 3–4 cm across, and rinse briefly. Leave the peeled garlic cloves whole. Check the cheese: you need fresh, unsalted tome fraîche for aligot, which is worth ordering ahead from a supplier of French cheeses; aged tomme with a rind is not the same ingredient.

Put the potatoes and all 8 g garlic into the pot, add 2 l cold water, and bring to a boil. Do not salt the water: all the salt will go into the purée later. Lower the heat and cook at a gentle boil for about 20–25 minutes from when the water first boils. The potatoes must be tender all the way through: a knife should slide in without resistance, and a piece should break apart easily under the pressure of a fork. While they cook, prepare the cheese and the warm dairy mixture.

Cut the tome into thin slices about 2–3 mm thick and cut larger slices into shorter pieces. Divide the cheese into 4 portions of 100 g and cover until needed. Put all 200 g crème fraîche and 50 g butter in the small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture reaches about 60–65°C. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and use when the potatoes are ready.

Drain the potatoes with the garlic and discard the water. Return them to the pot and heat over low heat for 1–2 minutes, moving the pot, until the potato surfaces look dry and floury. Remove from the heat. Transfer the hot potatoes and garlic to the colander, then immediately press them through the ricer in batches directly into the emptied, still-warm pot. The mixture should be uniform, without hard lumps. Do not use a blender or food processor.

Add all the warm cream and butter mixture, 8 g salt, and 0.5 g white pepper to the riced potatoes and garlic. Mix with the wooden spatula, scraping the bottom and sides. Place over low heat and warm, stirring, until the purée is smooth, thick, and evenly hot, about 75–80°C as a guide. Measure the temperature in the center of the mixture, not right at the bottom of the pot.

Keep the pot over low heat and add the first 100 g sliced tome. Stir firmly from the bottom with the spatula, folding the mixture until the cheese is almost fully incorporated. Add the remaining portions of 100 g in the same way, using all 400 g. Incorporating the cheese usually takes about 5–8 minutes. Aim roughly for 70–80°C as you stir: the mixture should be hot but must not bubble or stick. If it gets too hot, take the pot off the burner briefly and keep stirring. Do not beat with a mixer.

Once no visible pieces of cheese remain, scoop the mixture from the bottom and lift the spatula about 20–30 cm above the surface. Ready aligot stretches in a broad, cohesive ribbon, has an even sheen, and does not release pools of fat. Just 2–3 such lifts and folds are enough; once it reaches this consistency, take the pot off the heat. If the mixture has cooled and the cheese has not yet blended evenly, warm it briefly over low heat while stirring, then check again. Do not boil the aligot, and do not keep mixing it for a long time once ready: too much heat can break its stretch and cause the fat to separate.

Divide the hot aligot into 6 portions in warmed bowls or on warmed plates, scraping the mixture from the sides of the pot too. Serve as a hearty side dish while it still stretches smoothly from the spoon. Do not wait until later to serve it: the mixture firms up noticeably as it cools. The stated number of portions is for the aligot alone.