Sweet Potato Aligot
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- Kosher salt
- Grapeseed, olive or sunflower oil
- Leaves from 1 small bunch sage
- 1thyme or lemon thyme sprig
- ¼cup heavy cream
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1garlic clove, finely grated or minced
- Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 8ounces grated Gruyère, Cheddar or Emmentaler cheese
- 5ounces Saint-Nectaire or Tomme de Savoie cheese, rind removed, cubed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
452 calories; 36 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 443 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a medium pot, cover the potatoes and a generous amount of salt with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain but don’t wash out the pot. (You’ll need it again later.)
- Step 2
Meanwhile, fry the sage leaves: Line a plate with a paper towel. In a small skillet, heat ¼-inch of oil. Add sage leaves a few at a time, and fry until golden and crisp, usually about 1 minute or so. Use a slotted spoon to transfer fried leaves to the paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining sage leaves, adding more oil to the pan if needed.
- Step 3
In a small pot over medium heat, add the thyme and cream, and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and cover until needed.
- Step 4
Transfer the cooked potatoes to a food processor, and pulse just until mashed. Or pass potatoes through a food mill or large-holed sieve to mash.
- Step 5
Return potatoes to their cooking pot and set it over low heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in butter, garlic and nutmeg until the butter melts.
- Step 6
Remove thyme sprig from the cream. Stir the cream into the potatoes, then stir in the cheese, a handful at a time, until melted and stringy. Serve immediately, topped with the fried sage leaves.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
J.
Made it experimentally, bc I was skeptical about the proportions. I found that one pound of sweet potatoes (about two potatoes) was not enough to hold all that cheese. I added more sweet potatoes gradually and hit the right texture (unctuous, stretchy) with two pounds of sweet potatoes (four medium-sized). YUM. It was delicious, definitely a comfort food or special-occasion decadent side dish.
cjs415
Im thinking midnight snack now
Corey
Really good and super rich! This with some Brussels sprouts made for some awesome side dishes! Will make again for the holidays as it looks beautiful when plated.
Mel
I could not wait to make this. The description was wonderful.I could see this and taste it . Perfectly. It was a huge disappointment. The flavor from the sweet potatoes rendered it flat. Not sweet, not savory. Many excellent ingredients that add up to less than the sum of there parts. It will not be on my Thanksgiving table. I may try later with good yellow/gold potatoes.
Jan
I’m thinking Thanksgiving side dish here.
Laura
We made this as a side dish for our ducky Thanksgiving. It was too rich, glue-like stretchiness, oddly flavorless. I wished we could have deconstructed the dish because we could have been happy with roasted sweet potatoes, a nice block of Emmentaler, and some St. Nectaire for a treat at some point in our lives. I love Melissa Clark's recipes but this one, a big No.It encapsulated the problem of Thanksgiving—too much.
Marti
Where does one find this fancy cheese? And what would be a good substitute?
Anastasia Raba
My boyfriend and I enjoyed this immensely. We ate it with a side salad, however, I think it would work much better as an accompaniment, especially to crispy skin chicken. Very rich and delicious.
annie
This was pretty good and, because of others comments re bland I also added Chinese five spice and some red pepper flakes. Tasty but I’m not sure it’s worth the time. Don’t skip the sage, it really heightened this dish.
Ale Baudrand
As another cook did, I duplicate de amount of sweet potatoes with the same amount of everything else. The result is AMAZING. Don’t miss this recipe!
Kate
This was the star of our two-person Christmas dinner. Used a bigger sweet potato than called for and just the cheddar cheese and only could find whole milk and not cream. It was still so rich and buttery and delicious. We had it alongside salmon and broccoli and it really added that decadence to the meal you hope for on Christmas.
TBlankley
I agree with J. The proportion of potato to cheese in the recip did not generate the balance I wanted. I added additional cream and less cheese to the 1 lb of sweet potato and it resulted in a pretty good balance. It may be that my proportion would be thicker than a fondue consistency but it made for a delicious dish
MLR
In response to the person who doubled the amount of sweet potatoes. This was puzzling to me, Maybe it depends on the kind of sweet potatoes or yams that you use. I used 1 lb of garnet yams which came came out perfectly. If I had used more of the the garnet yam it would not have turned out as stretchy as Aligot should be. One change I would make regards cubing the second cheese. I used Tomme de Savoie. I would have either shredded or cut the cheese into small cubes to make the melt easier.
Gradeshpande
I lived in SW France for a while, where they claim aligot as their own, and didn’t think you could get better than that - but this recipe somehow manages to take it to another level. I used fairly strong gruyere and fontina. The fried sage is not necessary but def elevating. One note though: I wouldn’t necessarily fry the leaves until golden, which for me took a lot longer than 1 min and I felt robbed them of a bit of their flavor. Next time I will indeed keep the cooking time to about a minute.
Jennie
Oh. My. God. This was absolutely divine. The sweet potato flavor was prominent, but didn't overwhelm the cheese--they were in perfect, complementary balance. This was so great I kept taking more spoonfuls, because I couldn't believe anything could be so unctuous and nuanced and comfort-foody and elegant and naughty and sublimely delicious at the same time. The garlic was a key flavor. I infused my cream with fresh oregano because there was no thyme to be had, but couldn't taste it.
Jennie
Also, I was wary about processing the boiled sweet potatoes because I have read that processed white potato turns super gluey. But this processed to a fluffy puree (I used the cream to get it going), perfect texture. Thank you, Melissa Clark!
Madeleine
This was one of the most delicious additions to our Christmas dinner. I just finished off the leftovers and it was just as good as 4 days ago! Yes the fried sage is an important flavor. Using enough garlic and boiling the sweet potatoes in lots of salt is also important. There was nothing remotely flavorless about it, it was heaps of flavor in every bite.
Lolita Jackson
Is the sage a must? Just curious.
Laura
We made this as a side dish for our ducky Thanksgiving. It was too rich, glue-like stretchiness, oddly flavorless. I wished we could have deconstructed the dish because we could have been happy with roasted sweet potatoes, a nice block of Emmentaler, and some St. Nectaire for a treat at some point in our lives. I love Melissa Clark's recipes but this one, a big No.It encapsulated the problem of Thanksgiving—too much.
Marti
Where does one find this fancy cheese? And what would be a good substitute?
Elizabeth
Has anyone tried boiling the potatoes in stock?
Mel
I could not wait to make this. The description was wonderful.I could see this and taste it . Perfectly. It was a huge disappointment. The flavor from the sweet potatoes rendered it flat. Not sweet, not savory. Many excellent ingredients that add up to less than the sum of there parts. It will not be on my Thanksgiving table. I may try later with good yellow/gold potatoes.
Marina
And if you can make it with the real cheese of Aligot wich is Tome that is a really young Cantal if you can find it. Without that its just is smash potatoes with cheese, not Aligot.
Jim
Cheesie side dish...not a soup. Trouble frying Sage be careful does not burn.
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