Poutine

Photographer: Kurt
Serves 4 small portions

As my seemingly endless journey of recreating and reinterpreting cuisine from others countries continues, I thought it was time I set my sites on the Canadian east coast and its great tradition of French inspired dishes.  

 

Poutine is the ultimate comfort food, whether consumed after a big night out or a lazy afternoon curled up on the sofa. It will satisfy all your salty, carbohydrate and fat cravings. Traditionally consisting of only chips, cheese curd and gravy, there are now all manner of variants being concocted, including this spiced up wee number that includes chorizo meatballs.

 

You can make the chips (fries) using Lauren’s great oven chip recipe here or if your feel especially lazy just grab a bag of frozen chips and a box of gravy from the market – sometimes you just need it now, with the smallest of effort required, but don’t skimp on the curd – there is no alternative to fresh cheese curd in this dish.

 

I made this recipe, along with a Japanese curry gravy version topped with sliced spring onion for Friday beers at work. Both dishes where cleanup in a matter of minutes!

INGREDIENTS

For the gravy
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp of flour
2 cups of beef stock
2 tsp of Dijon mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Pepper and salt to taste

For the chips
1 kg Agria potatoes
2 tsp salt
6 tbsp rice bran oil

For the rest
1and ½ cups of cheese curd cut into 1cm chunks
4 Fresh chorizo sausage
½ red onion sliced finely

METHOD


1. In a medium saucepan melt the butter on a medium heat, once the butter has nearly melted add the flour and mix continuously until the mixture starts to brown and has a toasty smell.
2. Deglaze the saucepan with the stock, stir until the mixture is combined. Simmer for 5 – 6 minutes until the gravy thickens. Add pepper and salt to taste. Keep warm on a low heat.
3. Make the chips by following the method from Lauren’s post.
4. While the chips are cooking in the oven. Squeeze the filling from the fresh chorizo sausage out into a heated pan, making little meatball shapes. Fry until golden brown.
5. Place the chips and curd onto oven proof serving plates, then place in the still warm oven for a few minutes until the curd has softened.
6. Remove from oven, add chorizo meatballs, pour the warm gravy over the top, and scatter a few red onion pieces to finish.