Market Stall · Stretched Cheese & Potato
Aligot
Photo: Slastic / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Aligot depends on tomme fraîche, an unripened, springy curd made on the Aubrac plateau precisely for this dish; aged cheese won't give the same long, elastic stretch.
Aligot is mashed potato beaten vigorously with fresh Tomme cheese, garlic, and butter until it turns into a smooth, elastic mass that stretches like taffy when pulled. Market stalls and fairs on the Aubrac plateau serve it ladled straight from huge pots, still being stirred.
Why it's made this way: Tradition credits the monks of the Aubrac plateau, who fed pilgrims on the road to Santiago with bread and the local fresh curd cheese, and stalls across Occitanie's fairs still perform the stretching as a bit of theater.
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