Mashed Potatoes with Cheese (French Pommes Aligot)

This classic French recipe of mashed potatoes with melted cheese and garlic is native to the Aubrac, a volcanic region with deserted granite landscapes in the center of France, it is an ideal comfort food, striking the perfect balance between potatoes and cheese. Aligot isn’t so much a side dish as it is a work of art. Humble potatoes and cheese are beaten together with crème fraiche until they form silky, smooth ribbons of puréed potato. It’s a deliciously hearty recipe, and it’s tempting to eat it all by itself, in the dead of winter, for its sheer comfort value. Try to hold out, though, and accompany it with a rich steak for a luxurious meal. Once you do, it will be hard to go back to regular mashed potatoes.

2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered (2 kg)
6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup crème fraîche
1 clove garlic, smashed but kept intact
3 cups Tomme d'Auvergne, Langres, Monte Enebro or Gruyère cheese, shredded
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground white pepper

For the Potatoes:
Put the potatoes in a medium pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2". Add enough salt so that the water tastes salty, like the ocean, and bring a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain.

For the Cream Sauce:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the crème fraîche and garlic to just steaming. Remove the garlic and pour the steaming crème fraîche into the mashed potatoes and transfer the pan of potatoes to the stovetop over low heat. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, beat the crème fraîche into potatoes.

For the Assembly:
Immediately pass the potatoes through a food mill or ricer and return them to the pot. Set the pot over medium-low heat and stir in the garlic, butter, crème fraîche and about ½ cup cheese at a time. With a wooden spoon beat the potatoes until the cheese has melted. Continue beating with the remaining cheese until it is all incorporated and melted. The end result should be velvety texture potatoes that can be stretched with a spoon like melted mozzarella (about 10 minutes total).

For the Serving:
Season to taste with salt and white pepper and serve right away as a side dish or with toasted baguette slices as an appetizer.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Makes 4 servings.