The very first words out of my son’s mouth were ‘is this cheese fondue?’ I replied ‘Non, just some mashed potatoes and cheese’. He gave a confused look then asked again: ‘is this fondue?’ I stopped and thought about it for a moment. There is an obscene amount of cheese in these potatoes. Almost one to one. And, if you make it correctly it will have an elastic quality similar to a hot cheese fondue so this time I answered yes instead.

Pommes Aligot, or cheesy potato fondue, is an incredibly easy dish to master. The key components are good mashed potatoes, lots of cheese, and the desire for an arm workout.

Let me tell you a secret I learned about pommes Aligot. You can make them the day before you serve them. When they are cooked store in a microwavable tupperware container. 10 minutes before you are ready to serve simply microwave for about 2 minutes, or until warm. You may need to stir halfway through to ensure that they heat evenly. Put the potatoes into a heavy pan and cook over low temperature stirring constantly.

Pommes Aligot

PREP: 5 minutes | COOK: 30 minutes | SERVES: 4

ingredients

• 1 - 1/4 pounds of yellow potatoes, boiled until tender, drained, peeled, then mashed

• 3 ounces of unsalted butter

• 4 ounces of heavy cream or creme fraiche

• 1 clove garlic mashed

• sea salt, pepper

• 1 pound of shredded cheese (no, that is not a typo - see the notes)

directions

1. Cook and mash the potatoes in whatever way that makes you happy. My only suggestion would be to make sure that in the end, they are nice and smooth. Put the potatoes into a Dutch oven or large skillet. Stir in the butter and cream with a wooden spoon over low heat until fully incorporated, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the cheese and keep stirring with a wooden spoon for 10 to 15 minutes. Yes, 10 to 15 minutes. I realize that sounds like a long time but the excess stirring really changes the consistency of the potatoes. What you are looking for is that the potatoes and cheese have fully mixed together and that the mixture becomes elastic. Test by pulling a spoonful up and out of the pot and it resembles molten cheese.

notes

What type of cheese should you use for pommes aligot? In Geraldene Holt’s classic book on Southern French cooking ‘French Country Kitchen’, she mentions using a tomme from late spring or summer when the cows are grazing on the higher pastures. Since I am neither in France nor is it late spring, I used a raclette cheese. What you are looking for is something that is young and soft. Other than raclette I have used Gruyere, cheddar cheese curds, or Emmenthal.