Aligot
Aligot or Aligot de l'Aubrac is a system originally developed by monks for the preparation of meals for pilgrims and later peasant dish of Aubrac from potatoes and cheese . Today it is usually served as a side dish.
history
Aligot is an Aubrac specialty that was prepared in a different form in the cloister kitchen of the Aubrac Hospital before the potato was introduced to Europe to cater for pilgrims traveling through. At that time, the aligot was a dish made from broth and bread and cheese dissolved in it, which was served to pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela . After the decline of the pilgrimage, the aligot became the food of the mountain farmers who made it for their own consumption in their burons , stone huts on the high plateaus of the Aubrac, inhabited in summer. It was not until the 18th century, when bread was inevitably replaced by potatoes after a bad harvest, that the aligot was created in its current form. With the rural exodus since the 18th century, the food reached Paris and then all of France, changing from a poor people's meal to a festive dish.
preparation
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Preparation in the household
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Preparation at a festival, 2008
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In the Auvergne peasant households, the preparation of the aligot was often the job of the men because of the great amount of force required to hide the cheese. This was especially true at weddings and village festivals, when the required amount was very large.
The main ingredients for the aligot are mashed potatoes, tome fraîche and mostly garlic . Tome fraîche is a slightly fermented, unsalted and heavily pressed cream cheese that, depending on the region , is taken from the production process of Laguiole , Cantal or Salers . Tome fraîche de Cantal is used for aligot, the texture of which is similar to mozzarella .
The aligot is prepared in numerous variations. A classic recipe is based on cooked floury potatoes that are mashed hot with butter, milk, garlic, pepper and occasionally with the addition of cream or crème fraîche . The proportion of cheese varies from about half the amount of potatoes to a very rich aligot with potatoes and cheese in equal parts. The thinly sliced cheese is whipped into the hot potato mixture until it has melted. Then the tough aligot can be pulled out more than two meters with a spoon. It is consumed immediately in this state, either on its own or as an accompaniment to sausages from the region or fried bacon. It is also recommended with roast lamb and can be enhanced with black truffles , for example . Today, ready-made aligot is packaged in refrigerated counters and even offered as a frozen product.
Web links
- Le guide de l'aligot (French)
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Jill Norman: aligot . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 12-13 .
- ↑ a b Le guide de l'aligot. Retrieved January 31, 2020 (French).