Happy Canada Day to all our fellow Canucks!  To celebrate our nation’s 145th birthday, we decided to put our own twist on a Canadian classic.  Much like the Caesar, poutine is about as quintessentially Canadian as it gets.  What this dish lacks in aesthetics it more than makes up for in taste.  Our version is made with sweet potato fries, mushroom gravy, and fresh locally produced cheese curds from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks.  We used a combination of crimini, shiitake, oyster, and portobello mushrooms, but we encourage you to use whatever varieties you have available at home.  If you’re not a fan of the fungi, they can be easily strained out, keeping all their lovely earthy flavours in the gravy where they belong.

Sweet Potato Poutine With Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

• 2-3 Sweet Potatoes Cut Into Fries (you want the orange ones that are usually mislabelled as yams)
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1/2 A Large Onion
• 2 Cups Chopped Mushrooms
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Cups Vegetable Stock
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Red Wine
• Fresh Herbs (we used rosemary, sage and thyme but feel free to get creative here)
• 1/4 Flour

Method

For the Sweet Potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 450°F
2. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper. You want them to have a nice light coating of oil.
3. Spread fries on a baking sheet. Be careful not to pile them up on each other or they won’t get crisp.
4. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Take out, flip the fries and then cook for another 10 minutes.

For the Gravy

1. In a large sauce pan melt butter, add onions and cook a few minutes until softened.
2. Stir in mushrooms and garlic, saute for a few more minutes.
3. Add vegetable stock, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, red wine and fresh herbs. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes.
4. Slowly add in the flour gradually, stirring often to prevent lumps.
5. Bring to a low boil, then reduce to low.
6. Stirring often, allow to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until gravy thickens.

For the Poutine

1. Layer sweet potato fries, cheese curds and gravy.
2. Dig in and enjoy!

*Pro Tip: Make sure your sweet potato fries and gravy are really hot! If you do happen to get distracted taking photos make sure to reheat your gravy, otherwise you will end up with semi-melted cheese and that’s just sad.

How do you plan on celebrating Canada Day this year? Post your answers below!

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