History & recipe of Aligot de l’Aubrac

Is it going to be very cold these days? To warm up, Camping les Calquières shares with you its recipe for Aligot, a typical Aveyron dish perfect for facing winter!

A historic dish in Aubrac

Looking for quick and easy winter recipes? Let us convince you with a melt-in-your-mouth Aligot!

This culinary specialty is to Aveyron what Savoyard fondue is to Savoy: a gastronomic emblem that appeals to both the stomach and the heart. In fact, it’s known as the “ribbon of friendship”! A traditional recipe fromAubrac, Aligot is a mashed potato and fresh Tome cheese with a very stringy texture. Invented by the monks of Aubrac in the 12th century, Aligot aveyronnais was served to pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. That’s how it warms the body and the heart!

As for Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac, or “Tome d’aligot”, this is a cheese made from whole raw milk from Simmental and Aubrac cows, which graze the Aubrac meadows for an average of 176 days a year, and feed on hay in winter. Made using ancestral methods inherited from the buronniers of Laguiole in northern Aveyron, Tome fraîche de l’Aubrac is a lightly fermented, unsalted cheese. It is used to make the famous Aligot, as well as Truffade de l’Aubrac (“le Rétortillat”).

Recipe for traditional Aligot

• Preparation time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients for 4 people :

• 1 kg bintje potatoes
• 400 g fresh Tome cheese
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• 100 g butter
• 200 g heavy cream

Boil the diced potatoes and garlic.

Remove garlic and purée.

Add the butter, crème fraîche and thinly sliced tome cheese to the purée.

Season generously with salt and pepper.

Using a wooden spatula, stir the mixture over a low heat until the tome melts without cooking.

Always turn in the same direction to avoid “breaking the thread”. Caution: left too long on the heat, the thread will break…

Lift and stretch the purée into a long ribbon, until the aligot no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.

When the purée is stringy, the Aligot is ready! Enjoy it piping hot with salad and charcuterie, or grilled beef, preferably Aubrac for a more local touch.

Nutritional value

Since aligot is made from fresh Tome cheese, this dish is an important source of calcium. As you may have guessed, it’s also a high-fat dish. To be more precise, 100 g of aligot represents around 180 kcal. It’s not all very healthy, but it’s okay to treat yourself once in a while!

ALSO READ: “Visit to the Roquefort cellars in Aveyron”.

photo@ Jeune Montagne, Laguiole Cheese Cooperative