Culinary Experiment: All I got Was Aligot & It Was Enough!

Many a moon, I have been musing about making aligot. Consisting of potatoes, butter,  crème fraîche, and cheese, it's a redolent-with-garlic speciality from the L'Aubrac region in southern France. If there is one dish whose taste and texture comes together in perfect harmony, it's aligot.

Not quite mashed potatoes, not quite a fondue

An early-season potato, Artemis, recently gave a decent harvest. Because its moisture content is moderate, this all-purpose variety is suitable for most recipes.

Freshly harvested taters smell so good!

As usual, a few got damaged when being removed from the soil. Since they couldn't be stored, the undamaged bits were set aside for making a test batch of aligot.

Cook four, peeled medium potatoes (about 500 grams/17.6 dry ounces) until fork-tender. Drain and then dry them by shaking the pan over low heat for a minute or so. Remove, rice, and reserve the potatoes. While ricing, heat one tablespoon of butter and one heaping tablespoon of crème fraîche in the same pot. Toss in a smashed, peeled garlic clove and simmer for a few minutes. Remove garlic. Add the riced potatoes. Beat with a wooden spoon until fluffy, about a minute. Stir in gradually via four increments a total of 237 ml/eight fluid ounces of grated cheese. Some recipes called for a much greater amount of cheese which I suspect would make the texture even more satiny. So add more if desired. Cheddar worked a treat in mine, but French cheeses like Cantal or Laguiole would be great choices.

Salt to taste (mine didn't need any). Beat until stretchy, shiny, and smooth.

Yes, that is a fork. Only because it wasn't possible to inhale the aligot and still live. Otherwise, I would have! Traditionally aligot is served with Toulouse sausages or roast pork. However I can't think of many things that wouldn't go with this. Perhaps making a well and filling it with chopped ham and wilted arugula? Or a juicy, broiled chicken breast plonked right on a pile of aligot? 

It was superb down to the last smidgin

In the flower garden, there is ample fragrance from lavender and lilies. Their heady perfume is accentuated on hot days.

Front garden : lavender, lilies & Box Elder/Maple trees

Daylilies and dahlias cheer up the path flanking one side of the house.

Red daylilies followed by taller pink ones & red dahlias in the background

Daylilies take several years to get established, but when they do, they are spectacular. Though each flower lasts just one day, the plants put out many buds.

Close-up of the taller pink variety

Shasta daisies shining in the sun announce summer in that bright, friendly way of theirs.

À la prochaine!

Fresh Mint Whipped Cream Experiment . . . and preserving rhubarb

When recently packing up a container of forced pink rhubarb for the freezer, I imagined how its delicate texture and lovely shade of pink could be made even more appealing if it was folded into pale-green, fresh mint whipped cream.

A large handful of freshly harvested Moroccan mint was rinsed, chopped, and allowed to steep in 150 ml of warm cream for about ten minutes. The covered pot was left in the fridge overnight. The next day, the contents were sieved and whipped with some sugar.

However, the fabled pale green I was anticipating did not materialise. Instead, the result was the palest olive-green I have ever seen.

Scrapping the idea of a pink and green rhubarb fool, I instead topped my hot cocoa with it. What a wonderful combo mint whipped cream and cocoa is!

About thirty rhubarb stalks were plucked from the two non-forced bushes.

The rhubarb was sliced, mixed with sugar, and placed in the oven.

Once cooled, the rhubarb was spooned into containers and frozen. We see two large rhubarb crumbles in our future. All that is needed is to make the topping the night before, and put it along with a defrosting container of rhubarb in the fridge. The next day, it can be assembled and baked.

The pink & green may not have been achieved for a rhubarb fool, but did so when preserving the rhubarb!

The small surplus remaining from the filling of two litre containers was quickly scoffed on the spot by yours truly.

Early-season potatoes planted several weeks ago are coming up in that lusty way which is their signature. The bed was covered with horticultural fleece at night just a few times to protect them from the cold.

They should be ready for harvesting around mid-June

À la prochaine!

Experimenting With Warm Veggie Dips: Broccoli & Sweet Red Pepper

Scheduling the main meal for the two of us in early afternoon allows my playing around with ingredients in the evening while giving The Calm One an opportunity to sate his grazing instinct with his favourite nibbles from the fridge and cupboard.

Browned a bit, puffed somewhat, bound-with-cheese & hot from the oven

Working on a recipe is both frustrating and gratifying, and in that regard, messing about in the kitchen resembles life in general. The chagrin comes from noting the inevitable gap between an ideal concept and the real deal; the reward results from lessening that difference as much as possible.

Broccoli, sweet red pepper, garlic & fennel (the herb) all came from our potager

A warm dip is more adapted to the winter months than its cool counterpart, but they both share the tasty function of accompanying crackers, chips, breads, and crudités.  The last of the frozen Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Garlic Dip which I had made from the late-summer harvest and some broccoli fresh from our autumnal potager provided a colourful foundation.

Roasted sweet red pepper/garlic, cream cheese, fennel the herb, olive oil & lemon juice

Adding grated Parmesan and Edam, along with cream cheese and mayonnaise, and mixing well, brought it up to potential warm dip status.

Spreading the mixture in a pie plate and then baking for about thirty minutes in a 150 degrees C/300 degrees F oven until golden brown were the next steps.

A mound of this dip is not exactly an unyielding rock, but neither does it move like unctuous lava intent on lavishing grilled sourdough rye among other worthy dipping partners which was my envisioned goal when choosing the ingredients.

Dip & Swedish flatbread

The lack of ooze probably is caused by stolid Edam's inability to pull off molten lusciousness. A nicely aged cheddar would have been up to the challenge, but there wasn't any in the house. Also topping with additional cheddar five minutes before taking it out of the oven will boost the dipping factor. But it was good enough and its flavour held even when eaten cold.

Dip & corn chips

Ingredients for Broccoli & Sweet Red Pepper Warm Dip Experiment
(Tablespoons are level not heaped!)

• Broccoli florets, finely chopped, 170 grams/6 dry oz, if less crunch is desired, parboil first
• Parmesan, finely grated, 4 T
• Cheddar, finely grated, 8 T
• Roasted red pepper/garlic spread (recipe here), 2 T or substitute minced sweet red pepper/garlic/fennel the herb/lemon juice to taste
• Onion, finely minced, 2 T
• Cream cheese, 8 T
• Mayonnaise, 8 T (substitute more cream cheese for some of the mayo if you want a less oily dip)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (go easy on the salt if using salty crackers/chips

Dirac the Young Cat meanwhile had no trouble embracing an effortless furry flow state . . .

. . . of tail meeting back paws.

À la prochaine!