AI-generated image
Mushroom-gravy poutine
Québec fries with squeaky cheese curds and a rich vegetarian mushroom gravy
Poutine was born in rural Québec in the 1950s, at snack bars (casse-croûtes) in towns like Warwick and Drummondville, and is now eaten across Canada at 2 a.m. after a night out and at hockey arenas. The rules are simple: crisp fries, fresh cheese curds that squeak against your teeth, and a hot, savoury gravy poured over so the curds soften but don't fully melt. This gravy is made with browned mushrooms and vegetable stock instead of the usual chicken-beef stock. Chef's tip: keep the curds at room temperature and the gravy very hot; cold curds stay rubbery and lukewarm gravy makes the fries soggy without softening the cheese.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fries
For the mushroom gravy
To serve
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Soak 2 ¼ lb floury baking potatoes in cold water for 30 minutes to remove surface starch, then drain and dry very well on a towel.
30 minStep 2: For the gravy, melt 1 ⅜ oz butter in a pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 7 oz chestnut mushrooms for 6–8 minutes until their liquid evaporates and they turn deep brown and smell nutty. Add 1 shallot and 2 cloves garlic for 2 minutes.
10 minStep 3: Stir in 3 tbsp plain flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells toasty. Gradually whisk in 2 cups hot vegetable stock, then 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp tomato purée, ½ tsp dried thyme and ½ tsp black pepper. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Add 1 tsp cider vinegar and blend smooth if you like. Keep very hot.
12 minStep 4: Heat 6 ¼ cups vegetable oil to 300°F. Fry the potatoes in 3 batches for 5–6 minutes until soft but still pale. Drain on a rack.
18 minStep 5: Raise the oil to 375°F and fry again in batches for 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden and they rustle when shaken. Drain and toss with 1 tsp salt. Common mistake: frying once at a single temperature; the fries go limp the moment the gravy hits.
9 minStep 6: Pile the fries in bowls, scatter over 10 ½ oz fresh cheese curds and pour over the hot gravy. Eat straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mushroom-gravy poutine take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of floury baking potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Doubles
Doubles are Trinidad's favourite street food, sold from carts at dawn on corners from Curepe to San Fernando and said to have started in Princes Town in the 1930s. Two pieces of bara, a soft, puffy fried flatbread coloured with turmeric, are piled with soft curried chickpeas (channa), then spooned with sweet tamarind sauce, cool cucumber chutney, shado beni sauce and as much pepper sauce as you dare ('slight' or 'heavy'). They're messy, cheap and wonderful, eaten standing up from a square of paper. These are different from Indian chole bhature: the bara is light and yeasty, the channa is cooked very soft in Caribbean curry, and the toppings are sweet, sour and fiery all at once. Chef's tip: keep the bara dough very soft and wet, and handle it only with oiled hands. Stretch each ball thin over your fingers and slide it straight into the hot oil, so it puffs light and stays soft instead of turning into a crisp puri.
Lemongrass tofu banh mi
Bánh mì is Saigon's favourite street food: an airy, thin-crusted baguette split and stuffed with pickled carrot and daikon (đồ chua), cucumber, coriander and chilli. At vegetarian stalls near the city's pagodas the meat is swapped for sticky, caramelised lemongrass tofu, as in this version. Eat it for breakfast or lunch, warm, with a glass of iced coffee. Chef's tip: warm the baguette in a hot oven until the crust crackles when you squeeze it, and pull out a little of the soft crumb, so every bite is crisp shell, juicy filling and herbs in balance.
Thai bean burger
A Thai-flavoured veggie burger: butter beans are blended with fresh coconut, spring onions, coriander, roasted peanuts and red curry paste into coarse patties, shallow-fried until crisp and stacked in toasted buns with lettuce, onion and a little sweet chilli sauce. Filling, crunchy and full of flavour. Serve with a salad or chips.