Aligot

'Aligot', a typical Aubrac dish Aligot was once a core everyday meal that has gradually become a dish enjoyed on special occasions. © D.R.

What exactly is Aligot?
Something...
So, is this dish from the Lozère impossible to define? No, 'something' is simply the translation of the Latin phrase 'ali quod', from which this dish takes its name.
In the year of our Lord 590, king Eulalius had a serious argument with his wife Tetratia. Although the matter was originally nothing major, they could not come to an agreement and in the end had to ask three bishops to decide on the case. The bishops of Auvergne, Rouergue and Gévaudan therefore convened at the point where their respective dioceses joined near Aubrac and, with each camped out on his own patch, started negotiations.
What with all the discussion and verbal sparring, it was not long before the three of them started to feel rumblings in their stomachs.
As each bishop had brought with him some products from his diocese, they gave all they had to a shepherd with instructions to prepare something palatable for them.
The shepherd therefore found himself with potatoes from the bishop of Auvergne, fromage frais (also known locally as 'Tomme'), butter and milk from the bishop of Rouergue, and garlic (almost unheard of at the time) and salt from the bishop of Gévaudan.
Although he knew how to make cheese, he was not very well versed in the culinary arts, and simply mixed all the ingredients together in the same cooking pot, heating them and stirring regularly.
The results certainly seemed to please the bishops, who even squabbled over the left-overs! All the stirring from their three spoons made the dish more and more elastic, and in the end it was impossible to divide up.
Seeing this as a sign from God, the three bishops decided that the recipe had to be made at this same location, and Aligot thus became the typical dish of Aubrac.
Aside from this legend, Aligot remains a recipe that started off as a subsistence dish, before becoming a festival dish, and was served by monks to pilgrims on their way over the mountains along via Podiensis to Santiago de Compostela.