#21 Canada: poutine

Disclaimer: I love french fries, and I eat them multiple times a week, which is why I am vegan and gluten free and not skinny.

That being said, if you are NOT vegan and gluten free, definitely just drive to Quebec to get yourself some authentic Poutine!!!

This recipe was actually very, very, surprisingly delicious. But, it took a weird amount of effort, when I could have just eaten french fries with ketchup. It did not take long- maybe 30 minutes?- but still, required effort and kitchen gadgets.

I came upon this recipe when I asked my Canadian friend Katy if she had any thoughts, who sent me a link recommended by another Canadian friend, Claire. So- AUTHENTIC! Right? It's from the Minimalist Baker (just search "poutine" under her website and it come up first thing). Is it just me or is the Minimalist Baker generally extremely complicated? Don't get me wrong, I love her stuff!!, but... tapioca starch? Avocado oil? Coconut aminos? Who has that stuff laying around? Honestly, this recipe is simplified a TON from her recipe.


Poutine

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 1-3 hours if possible
1 bag of frozen french fries, or, make your own from potatoes
2 shallots, sliced
6 ounce box of mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced
vegetable broth, up to 2 cups total
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
1 Tablespoon ketchup
salt & pepper
chives, chopped

Directions:

Soak the cashews. Bake french fries according to directions.

In a medium soup pot over medium heat, sauté shallots for 3 minutes (I used broth, but use oil if you want). Add mushrooms slices and cook 5 minutes, stirring very often. Add more broth as needed to keep sautéing. Then, add balsamic vinegar, stir to incorporate, and then add cornstarch slowly, mixing constantly to avoid lumps. Add the soy sauce and ketchup, mixing always. This should thicken substantially! Add 3/4 cup of broth, and keep stirring. Use salt & pepper to season. If you feel like it needs it, add more broth, but otherwise, put mixture into a food processor and pulse for several minutes until smooth. It should be a thick gravy!

Pour the gravy into a separate container, but without cleaning food processor, add the drained cashews and pulse until medium smooth. Mine ended up 20% gravy, 80% cashews, and much thicker than the gravy.

To serve, place a handful of french fries on a plate. Drizzle the gravy over top, and place a few spoonfuls of "cashew cheese" around. Sprinkle with chives. I know this sounds weird. It is weird! Again, if you can eat real poutine, eat real poutine. But this is very, very, very good for a gluten free vegan version, I promise!  The chives kind of make it, honestly.