This smooth, velvety purée with a distinctive, elastic, and stringy texture -- similar to a fondue -- is a classic French dish that wll garner delightful smiles and requests for 'seconds' and, likely, 'thirds'

Pommes aligot is more than just a cheesy twist on mashed potatoes. This incredibly magical blend of creamy potatoes and cheese was born in the French region of Midi-Pyrénées, and it is a celebration of regional cheese.

It's traditionally made with Tomme de Laguiole or Tomme d'Auvergne cheese, although these fresh soft cheeses known for their melting qualities are pretty hard to find outside their tiny cities in the south of France. While not as traditional, pommes aligot can also be made with other melting cheeses like Gruyère and mozzarella and doesn't require more than a strong arm for mixing and a hearty appetite.

You can keep pommes aligot in a slow cooker set to WARM if you want to serve your masterpiece of potatoes warm and with a little show of luxury for serving.

Why you'll love it

• It's a French comfort food classic. These incredibly rich and cheesy mashed potatoes are ultra-comforting.
• You'll get the ultimate cheese pull. The long, luscious pull of cheesy potatoes is as much an iconic photo moment as it is a good doneness indicator. Only when the cheese is fully incorporated and melty can you pull the pommes up out of the pot.

Key ingredients for pommes aligot

• Potatoes: Use Yukon gold potatoes for their delicate texture and creamy, buttery flavor.
• Cheese: We recommend a combination of Gruyère for its melty texture and nutty flavor and fresh mozzarella for its stretchiness.
• Butter: Use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the dish.
• Heavy cream: Adds richness and creaminess to the potatoes.

Helpful swaps

French potatoes: French potatoes, much like French cheese, wine, and bread, are prized for their flavor. Early growing spring varieties are loved for their thin skin and fine texture. While French potato varieties are easily grown in your home garden and likely readily available from your local farmers markets, you'll have trouble finding these early growers into the fall. For this pommes aligot recipe, we're using readily available Yukon gold potatoes for their delicate texture and creamy, buttery flavor.

French cheese: To really understand the aligot, you have to understand the Aveyron region of France. Situated in the South of France on the L'Aubrac plateau, Aveyron (and specifically Laguiole, where aligots namesake cheese hails from) are known for their cows. Aubrac cows are prized for their dairy. Aubrac milk is exceptionally nutty with a flavor often compared to hazelnut, and is used to make Laguiole cheese traditionally used in aligot.

While pommes aligot should really be made with Tomme de Laguiole or Tomme d'Auvergne cheese, both of these are hard to find outside of France. So instead, we're using a combination of Gruyère for its melty texture and nutty flavor and fresh mozzarella.

Make-ahead and storage tips

• Make ahead: Cook and purée the potatoes up to two days in advance. Reheat over low heat until warm before adding the cream and butter and finally the cheese.
• Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Pommes Aligot (Cheesy Whipped Potatoes)

Fasolada, Greece's classic bean soup, is simple in technique but complex in flavor. Traditionally, white beans are cooked in water, and then aromatic vegetables, crushed tomatoes and herbs are added, but "Yassou" cookbook author Shaily Lipa likes to start with the Italian technique for soffritto: sauteing the vegetables in olive oil first to create a richer and more concentrated soup.

Servings: 8 to 10

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INGREDIENTS

• 4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
•2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1 1/2 cups heavy cream
•2 pounds grated Gruyère cheese
•1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and grated
•Kosher salt

Freshly ground white or black pepper

1. Place 4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes, in a 4-quart pot and cover with cool water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover and reduce the heat slightly to maintain a simmer. Cook the potatoes until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Drain the potatoes and cool for about 5 minutes. Use a food mill, potato masher, or ricer to finely mash the potatoes, or pulse (but not process) the potatoes into a fine purée in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Return the puréed potatoes to the pot.

3. Return the pot to medium heat. Add 2 sticks (8 ounces) room temperature unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and stir until melted.

4. Add 2 pounds grated Gruyère cheese and 1 pound drained and grated fresh mozzarella cheese, and beat into the potatoes with a wooden spoon. Put some muscle into it until the cheese and potatoes come together and have a stringy, elastic texture.

5. Season with kosher salt and pepper as needed and serve warm.

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