Recipe #24: poutine

 Who doesn’t love poutine?

Ingredients:

Note the power ingredient:

You certainly don’t have to use authentic Québécois cheese curds, but then it’s not poutine. It’s what one university pub menu from my Alma mater called “fries with cheese and gravy”.

Directions:

I won’t lie: I’m taking a major shortcut here today using frozen fries, but they’re pretty darn good. I’ll do up some homemade fries in a future post.

Also I’m cheating with the homemade gravy by copying from memory (from years, possibly decades, ago—so it may actually be quite different) a published gravy recipe from one of the famed Moosewood cookbooks, or so I think?

First, pop those frozen fries into the oven. I’m making a single serving on a hot summer day, so I’m just using the toaster oven:

And bake according to the bag’s directions until golden brown and crispy.

Start making the Moosewood-plagiarized gravy by adding some canola oil to a saucepan and, when warm, add sliced fresh mushrooms:

You’ve got it on medium-high heat, so move quickly. Stir the sliced mushrooms a bit, but before they brown at all add some ground pepper and a couple of glugs of tamari sauce:

Let that simmer for a few minutes and meanwhile mix a spoonful of corn starch with about a cup of water, mix it up to make a slurry, and add it to the saucepan. Stir it all together as it bubbles up and thickens:

When it’s the thickness you want, you’re done! Gravy! Keep it warm but no longer bubbling while the fries finish cooking.

When the fries are done, plate them:

Add your cheese curds:

And smother with gravy:

Voilà, c’est poutine!

I’m pairing mine with an improv slaw (shredded savoy cabbage, sliced radish, sliced new white onion, and a quick vinaigrette of grainy mustard, wine vinegar and olive oil). Listen to those curds squeak!

C’est beautiful, non?