Broccoli Aligot
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4large broccoli heads (about 3 pounds)
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1cup heavy cream, plus more as needed
- 6ounces low-moisture, whole-milk mozzarella, grated
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
554 calories; 44 grams fat; 27 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 1065 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.
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- Step 1
Cut the thick stems off the broccoli and reserve for another use. Place the broccoli crown cut-side down. Using a sharp knife and following the shape of the crown, shave off only the dark green tops of the florets, avoiding any stems which can affect the creaminess of the purée. (You’ll need 5 to 6 cups shaved broccoli.) Reserve the naked florets for another use.
- Step 2
Melt the butter in a medium, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the shaved broccoli and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until bright green and softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the cream is absorbed by the broccoli, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Transfer broccoli mixture to a blender and purée on high until completely smooth, adding a tablespoon or two of cream to get it moving if necessary, and periodically stopping to stir the mixture with a spatula.
- Step 5
Transfer the broccoli purée back to the same pot and place over medium heat. Add a handful of cheese and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or stiff silicone spatula until thoroughly melted. Repeat with the remaining cheese, waiting until the first addition has integrated before adding the next handful. Keep stirring vigorously until the mixture is stretchy. (Do not let the mixture come to a simmer, but be sure it’s hot enough for the cheese to melt or it won’t stretch.)
- Step 6
Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Emily
I'm not sure that cheddar would work in this application – in traditional pommes aligot, you can get away with using a mixture of melty and non-melty cheeses, because all of the starch from the potatoes is doing some of the work of keeping the puree at a nice consistency. It seems like in this case, the melty, stretchy texture of the mozzarella itself is doing nearly all of the work of creating a gooey final dish.
Autumn
What is the rationale behind using bland dry Mozzarella rather than the traditional Comté or Gruyère? Both pair very well with the flavor of Brocolli, and have wonderful stretch.
monika vail
Happened to have oven on so roasted broccoli to keep it dry together w some garlic tossed in olive oil, then proceeded w recipe.
Willi
So, serve how? With bread as a spread? Just by itself? On a potato? What is the consistency supposed to be, like mashed potatoes?
jes
While I am sure this is delicious as written, I might not be able to resist substituting white cheddar in place of the mozzarella.
Madison
For many, many years, I've made the Silver Palate pureed broccoli with creme fraiche for Thanksgiving. In that recipe, the cheese is parmesan so it's not real gooey or stretchy, but the sharpness of the parmesan makes a wonderful contrast to the broccoli and creme fraiche. I'll stick with that.
Buttery Babe
Oh my! I am a huge aligot fan. My husband is low carb and was missing out on the fun! We added a touch of garlic but cooked as is for the first go round! Yum! Will play with different cheeses next time. As an aside to the people saying sharp cheddar, it won't get the right stretch. It will be tasty, but the texture will be wrong.
Mendi
I feel like pommes aligot is relying as much on the gluey starch awakened in the beaten potato as the cheese to get the texture. Broccoli doesn't have that starch to aid this emulsion. I doubt cheeses like Gruyère and sharp cheddar are going to have the stretch you need to work this magic. The aging has broken down the protein enough that they tend to curdle and turn oily. I would suggest not subbing in cheddar older than 3 months old. Fontina is good melter that might have bolder flavor.
Julia
This seems like a perfect use case for Taleggio - you'd get more flavor than from mozzarella, and plenty of melty stretchiness. Fontina or raclette might work, too. Some young American-made cheddars have good melt & stretch, too, like Rumiano organic white cheddar. If anyone tries other cheeses, please share the results!
MLeeP
White cheddar: Genius substitute!
sara
Answering myself, yes, I made ahead and reheated the next day. It was fine.
Barrie Trinkle
My family and I just thought this was kind of weird. I love broccoli. I like cheese, but not this much. The texture is really not appealing. We ate it, but we didn't love it.
Chef Marky Mark
Make next time we have 4 heads of broccoli we want to shave the tops off of, ie, never
Keever
This is so strange. I love it.
Phyllis Hunter
For anyone who is wondering whether this could be turned into a leftover, the answer is yes. I had enough from the previous night’s dinner for a half recipe. It was great served over small roasted potatoes beside our steak. The butter and cream were absorbed and the mozzarella made it to the stretchy stage with no problem. Next time I’ll start with the raw broccoli for the gorgeous color, but its texture and taste were delicious as it was.
Lucinda
Is this a dip? Do you have it on bread? Recipe says side dish, but surely you don't just eat it straight?
MG
I'm still a little confused as to which part we are supposed to be using. It starts off stating to reserve the stalks.. and then says to reserve naked florets.. Aren't the florets the leafy parts they want us to use.. Or are they say literally nothing but the little green leafy parts and everything else push to the side.
Brandi
Curious as to what "stretchy" means. I imagine stretched, melted cheese, but from the photo, I am not sure that what I imagine is correct...
Melissa
This was WONDERFUL. We had a bit of a celebration dinner last night and I made this to go alongside seared beef filet and duck fat-roasted potatoes. I love broccoli, but this might be my new favorite way to eat it. This came together in a snap and was the perfect complement to our meal. I didn’t have any mozzarella on hand, but did have sharp provolone and it worked beautifully.
Melissa
What a lovely dish. I’ve had potatoes about before and they are wonderful, but had never contorting the same treatment with broccoli. This will, heretofore, be my go-to broccoli dish. Simply delicious. I used provolone instead of mozzarella (it’s what I had) and it turned out beautifully.
EMM
For those who despise cruciferous vegetables , can this be made with green beans or peas?
liz wansbrough
Delicious - an excellent idea though I must admit that I used all of the florets - shaving seemed wildly extravagant. Once puréed they only added depth to the brocoli flavor - I did however splash out on very good buffala mozzarella - definitely be reusing this recipe….
Dinah Gieske
Mine got nowhere near that green even though I was very careful to just shave off the very tops of the florets. I guess I just don't like the idea of the "aligot" because it reminded me of homemade baby food, and was underwhelming to eat. The taste was quite mild with the mozzarella cheese, so I would use a stronger cheese. (Goat cheese?) Now what do I do with the leftovers that no one will eat?
Dinah Gieske
Also, the texture was unsettling. Tiny floret pieces in a thick sauce. Perhaps I did not blend enough.
Zach Goldman
I haven't even made this recipe, and I'm rating it 5 stars on creativity alone. Well done, Ham!
Chef Marky Mark
Make next time we have 4 heads of broccoli we want to shave the tops off of, ie, never
S.J., Florida
Nobody wants to sear steaks made of broccoli stem, Ham.
Janice
I dont understand the distinction being made as to what to use and not use. If you peel the broccoli stems they puree nicely? I never heard of this recipe before so I am confued as to the difference between the Dark green and naked florets?
SusanSixPointOh
The answer is in the chef notes above. "Using too much of the watery, light-green stem yields a purée that’s loose and lacks lusciousness."
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