AKA Fries smothered in a Creamy mushroom gravy & coated with fresh Parmesan! UH YUM.
So if you are anything like me (or just American), and never heard of Canadian Poutine, do not fear! Let me explain this dish to you and blow your mind. GET READY (the anticipation)-- Poutine is described as French fries, with cheese curds, doused in gravy. YES I KNOW. SO SIMPLE! Why didn't I think of this? And where the heck was this gracious 'french fry-combo' the last 25 years of my life?!
The reason I call this “not your average” is because [obviously as seen above] I took out the cheese curds, and I topped with freshly grated parm instead. I actually made one batch with melted swiss cheese broiled over the fries, and then topped with gravy- AMAZING too! Also, as many of you vegetarians of the world know by now, most brown gravy's are made with some sort of beef stock and we normally need to stay away ( </3 ). But this is totally animal free! And if you are vegan, just replace the honey with agave & lay off the cheese. OH! And if you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, I have found plenty of other vegetarian ‘Poutine’ recipes on Pinterest that are made without the mushrooms. All look just as yummy :)
I was SO fortunate to stumble upon this dish on Hot For Food, and I knew from the moment I saw these gravy drenched fries, I NEEDED to try them. now. Plus these fries are baked, so I don't even feel guilty indulging in a huge dish of 'em. And Like I said above, I have never even heard of this fantastic creation until seeing it on this blog, so hopefully this post will change all of your lives forever as well! Made some adjustments and BAM- here it is.
ENJOY fries lovers of the world! xx S.
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 4 Russet potatoes, washed and sliced to 1-2 cm wide strips
- 5 oz (approx 1 1/2 cups) of White mushrooms, diced
- 1 Shallot, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 Tbs of unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1 1/2 Cups of Veggie broth (+ 1/2 to 3/4 cups of water to thin)
- 1 Tbs of Onion powder
- 2 tsp of Honey
- 2 Tbs of Soy sauce
- Freshly grated Parmesan, to top!
- Olive oil
- Paprika, Thyme & Rosemary (all to your preference!)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
PREPARE: Preheat oven to 425° degrees Fahrenheit. Begin by dicing the Mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. Set aside all separate. Then, scrub and clean potatoes very well and slice up to your fry size preference!
THE FRIES: In a large pot, bring enough water to a boil to cover the potato wedges. Once boiling, add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Drain well, add back to the large pot, and toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme & rosemary. Take in the aromas of these spices, lay flat on a baking sheet, and pop in the oven for about an hour (or until crispy & golden!)- tossing every 15-20 minutes.
THE GRAVY: While the fries our cooking, let's make the gravy (aka mushroomy deliciousness). In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil with the diced mushrooms and shallot. Cook for a few minutes until heated thoroughly, and throw in the garlic, a pinch of rosemary & thyme. Cook for another 5 minutes until mushrooms start to cook well and stick to the pan. Turn off heat. Now in a separate small saucepan, melt butter over medium and gradually add in the flour, while whisking/combining well. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from heat. Next, add the broth to the cooked mushrooms and mix well so the burnt pieces come off the bottom. Turn heat back to medium, and add the flour roux to your mushroom broth concoction. Reduce heat to medium and whisk well.
NOW add the honey, onion powder, and soy sauce. Keep whisking, and add a little water at a time to thin, until the desired consistency. Taste and finish off with salt & pepper. (MMMmm)
TO SERVE: Now that your fries & gravy are done, place fries in a deep bowl or dish. Smother with your mushroom gravy, and finish off with fresh Parmesan cheese (and optional Parsley).
*Note: You can TRY not to finish the whole plate of fries and gravy, but it's basically impossible. It's 'drool worthy' and mouthwatering before you even serve all together (I literally dipped a good quarter of the fries- fresh out of the oven- in the gravy, BEFORE assembling our servings for dinner). And if you have truffle oil on hand, I would totally toss these fries in that! I'm partially allergic (another </3) but I could just imagine how that would taste, and it would seriously ROCK! Aside from that, ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY! You will be in french fry heaven <3