Aligot with sausages or Aligot Saucisse is a classic French winter warmer. Our recipe keeps the classic, authentic methods and ingredients but we’ve modernised it making the potatoes ultra smooth adding an amazing onion gravy.
If you like sausages and mash potatoes but fancy a more modern, spruced up version then read on – you’ll love this.
Ps. If you’re visiting Paris click here to see where you can find it!
What is Aligot?
Aligot is a classic French dish made of mashed potatoes (or pomme purée in French) and melted cheese. Historically the dish comes from the Auvergne region in central France and uses Tommme Fraîche cheese from the nearby Aubrac area.
It’s said that the dish dates back to the 12th century where the monks of Aubrac would prepare and serve the dish to pilgrims who were going to the Santiago de Compostela. It originally was a soup based dish until the introduction of potatoes in the 16th century.
Nowadays the dish is seen in the English speaking world as cheesy mashed potatoes and commonly includes garlic. It’s a thing of wonder and is difficult to find outside of France!
The Best Aligot Recipe with Sausages and Gravy
Looking for the best aligot recipe? Look no further as our aligot recipe is easy, delicious and a great hearty meal to cook for dinner guests.
Our aligot recipe is relatively easy. It takes a simple mash potato recipe but with a few extra techniques to elevate it. Firstly, the milk is infused with crushed garlic and fresh thyme which adds a lot of flavour. Secondly, the potato is passed through a sieve which makes it insanely smooth. Cheese and butter is them beaten into the mixture which makes it cheesy, rich and decadent. Our Aligot is then served with Toulouse sausages and covered with a home made onion gravy.
What You’ll Need
This recipe is relatively simple doesn’t take too long to make. For the Aligot you’ll need:
For the onion gravy you’ll need:
And finally we use Toulouse sausages:
- Aligot: a simple mashed potatoes base is needed for the Aligot. You can use whatever potatoes you’d like along with milk that’s infused with crushed garlic and thyme and a healthy amount of unsalted butter. Traditionally Tomme Fraîche is used but if you can’t find this you can use Tomme d’auberge, Tomme de Savoie (this is what we used), Gruyere, Mozzarella or Comté. The cheese adds a lot of flavour but you can use whatever cheese you would like!
- Sausages: We use high quality, thick Toulouse sausages for this recipe however you can use whatever you want!
- Onion Gravy: Our onion gravy uses a base of red onions although feel free to use white or brown onions. Garlic and fresh thyme add extra flavour but are optional. The sauce is made from well reduced home made beef stock that is full of gelatine. If you haven’t got home made beef stock then feel free to use store bought and thicken with cornstarch. Check out our recipe for the best beef stock.
Ingredients
Makes enough for 4 people.
For the Aligot & Sausages:
- 500g of potatoes
- 100ml of milk
- 100g of non-salted butter
- 200g of Tomme Fraîche or Tomme de Savoie, diced with the rind removed
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 8 Toulouse sausages or whatever pork sausages you prefer
For the Onion gravy:
- 250ml of well reduced beef stock
- 3 medium red onions, finely sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp of fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 2 tbsp of Sherry vinegar
How to Make it
- Start with the onion gravy. Add finely the sliced onions to a sauté pan on a medium heat with a splash of oil and a knob of butter. Cook down, stirring frequently until caramelised – around 30 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and fresh thyme and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add sugar and deglaze with vinegar and beef stock. Simmer until you have a thick gravy. If you’re not using home made beef stock, thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
- Whilst the onions sweat down. Peel, chop and boil the potatoes until tender. Strain the potatoes and push them through a fine sieve with a bench scraper or large spoon – this may take 5-10 minutes. You can also use a potato ricer and then pass it through a fine sieve.
- Whilst the potatoes are boiling, heat the milk in a pot on a low heat and add the crushed garlic clove and thyme. After 10 minutes, pass the milk through a fine sieve to remove the thyme and garlic.
- Add the sieved potato to a pot and add the warm milk, butter and cheese. Beat the butter and cheese in on a low heat until everything is melted.
- Brown the sausages in a non-stick frying pan and put in a 180c oven to cook through for 8 minutes.
- Once the sausage are piping hot, serve immediately onto of the aligot and cover with the onion gravy.
What Cheese Should You Use for Aligot?
For an authentic aligot you should use Tomme Fraîche or Tomme d’Auvergne. However this is hard to find outside of France and even in France you’ll need to go to a fromagerie. We use Tomme de Savoie which we prefer. You can also use Gruyere, Mozzarella or Comté cheese – it doesn’t matter too much but avoid using goats cheese.
Aligot Translation
There isn’t a direct translation for aligot into English. Most people refer to it as ‘French cheesy mash potatoes’ which is fair!
The word aligot is thought to have come from the word alicouot from the ancient language of Occitan in France.
What to Serve with Aligot?
Traditionally sausages are served with aligot as well as a meat jus or gravy. In France, you’ll nearly always see Toulouse sausages (saucisse de Toulouse in French) on the menu in restaurants or on the plate at home. If you can’t get your hands on Toulouse sausages then any other sausage will work well! You can also serve it with roast pork or confit duck leg. Aligot is traditionally also served with red wine from the Auvergne region.
Aligot in Paris
Our favourite restaurant to eat Aligot in Paris is Ambassade d’Auvergne. Located in the 3rd arrondissement, the restaurant is a temple of food from Auvergne. They have a great set menu which includes a veal ribeye slow cooked to a perfect medium rare and the aligot is served with a black garlic purée. You can also add black truffle to the dish for extra luxury!
Address: 22 Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare, 75003
Tel: 01 42 72 31 22
Website: https://ambassade-auvergne.fr/
