Sweet potato shiitake poutine
and the particular joys of fries with salad
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
I am certain that I am not alone when I assert that I find immeasurable joy in a bowl of fries. Is there a more perfect food than deep fried potatoes?
In Australia, we call fries ‘hot chips’ and this is a name that, for me, encapsulates a particular time, a particular place, a particular girl. In suburban Sydney during the eighties, I would visit my local milk bar for an order of hot chips, heavily dusted in chicken salt, and wrapped in newspaper or white butcher’s paper. As I walked the ten minutes it took me to get home, cradling the blistering hot package in my arms, I would rip a hole in the top of the paper and stick my squat hands straight into the heat, scorching my fingers and then my mouth with the fat, salty, fried morsels. Pain can so seamlessly morph into pleasure.
As an adult, sometimes fries can be the main part of my meal. When on road trips outside of the cities in America, it can be hard to find vegetarian food, especially at accessible pitstops like diners. A lot of the time, my meal is fries and salad. If we are talking about a balanced meal, this pairing embodies it.
Recently, I discovered my ideal ‘fries and salad’ meal. Specifically, poutine with Greek salad. Poutine is a particularly brilliant specialty of Quebec, Canada – french fries and cheese curds are topped with gravy. On a visit to Montreal about a year ago, my daughter and I visited the aptly named Poutineville (their gravy is vegan) and, being our first time trying this Québécois specialty, decided to order a poutine and Greek salad to share. Yes, we were going for balance. As we waited for our food to arrive, we noticed that most of the other diners, assumed locals, had ordered a bowl of poutine to themselves. I admired, almost coveted, their brazenness.
When our order arrived, we realized that our poutine naivety had served us well. While a bowl of poutine all to myself appealed to the glutton in me, we had inadvertently happened upon a consummate meal - the richness of the gravy laced fries, beautifully balanced with the lively, fresh herbaceousness of the salad. Since that first visit, we have been back to Montreal a few more times, and that meal at Poutineville is our Montreal must.
If you’re in Montreal, try the combo and let me know what you think. I must add, the Greek salad at Poutineville is particularly good – it is heavily accented with dried herbs, with a perfect ratio of tomatoes, cucumbers, green capsicum (bell peppers) and black olives, which are all proportioned just right. It feels wrong to say this, because who would expect such an excellent representation at a poutine mini chain in Montreal, but this is the Greek salad of my dreams.
Speaking of Montreal and poutine, I bring you a very special recipe this week. This sweet potato shiitake poutine comes from the new cookbook Savoring by Murielle Banackissa, a recipe developer, food stylist and food photographer based in Montreal. In the crowded space of food and food media, it is increasingly hard to find new talent and fresh voices. I came across Murielle’s work thanks to my friend Kris, who reviewed Savouring on her excellent blog Shipshape Eatworthy. Murielle’s work really resonated with Kris so, knowing that I love dates, she sent me her Queen Elizabeth cake recipe to try. One bite, and I was hooked. Laced with syrupy dates, the cake is crowned in a sticky coconut caramel. It’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. Obsessed.
Murielle’s work excites me because there is a strong sense of place in her recipes. She seamlessly draws upon her childhood memories in the Republic of Congo, building in vivid vignettes from her mother’s Russian and Ukrainian heritage, while celebrating her Québécois sensibility. Her food and flavours feel familiar but there are small twists along the way that challenge what we already knew. In many ways, Murielle’s food and flavours bring to life the particular joys of immigrant cooking, a mingling of vast and diverse experiences and stories that coalesce to highlight the singularity of the recipe writer’s experience. No two immigrant experiences are the same, and I love cookbooks that are able to capture this so emphatically.
In this unique poutine recipe, Murielle swaps out potatoes for sweet potatoes, tops it with sauteed Chinese shiitake mushrooms, smothered in a deeply delicious gravy (this is my new go-to gravy), and finishes it with vegan feta (I love this one). Of course, if you aren’t vegan, adapt this recipe to your palate – use regular dairy butter and feta. Murielle highly recommends using the optional whiskey – I didn’t have any so I left it out and the gravy was still super rich. I’ve also made this gluten free friendly by giving the option of using rice flour instead of plain (all-purpose) flour.
Savoring, Meaningful Vegan Recipes from Across Oceans features chapters on Bountiful Breakfasts, Small Plates and Salads, Marvellous Main Dishes and Delectable Desserts. Thank you to Murielle and her publisher Appetite for allowing me to share this recipe. Note, I’ve adapted the recipe slightly to suit my recipe writing style.
COOK / EAT / SHARE
I have a new sweet treat this week on ABC Everyday. This 4-ingredient chocolate and malt mousse is powered by an unexpected ingredient. It’s so simple and also vegan if you choose a plant-based malted powder and chocolate.
This sheet pan mushroom parm is a good idea for this week! I love the way the wide portobello cups perfectly cradle the sauce and cheese.
I also have this potato and white bean puttanesca and sheet pan fried rice with vegan ‘xo’ sauce on my list this week, along with Kale and Dill Orzo and Inspired by Chana Saag from Tenderheart.
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE
Sweet Potato Shiitake Poutine
© This recipe and headnote below is excerpted from Savoring by Murielle Banackissa. Copyright © 2024 Murielle Banackissa. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Headnote from Murielle: Poutine is a Quebecois dish of fries topped with hot gravy and squeaky cheese. Although traditional poutine has never been my favorite fast-food item, creating elevated versions like this one has awoken my love for this cherished dish. I have spent countless weekends with Sam creating new variations of poutine using all kinds of potatoes, leftover gravy, vegan sausage and ground meat, and various veggies. Poutines are like burgers in that they are an amazing blank canvas on which to express your creativity, practice your culinary skills, and develop your palate. ForÂÂÂ this recipe, I use sweet potato fries; their sweetness complements all the umami flavors of the decadent gravy that features miso, tamari, and shiitakes.
Serves 4
Sweet Potato Fries
4 sweet potatoes (1.36kg / 3 pounds), unpeeled and cut in ½-inch-thick batons
extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp chili powder
sea salt and black pepper
Mushroom Gravy
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup (40 g) dried whole shiitakes
4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted vegan butter
2 shallots / eschalots (about 75g), diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
3 tbsp all-purpose or rice flour
1 tbsp whiskey, optional (see note below)
2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp miso paste
½ tsp black pepper
Sauteed Shiitake
2 tablespoons unsalted vegan butter
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
black pepper, to taste
Toppings
vegan feta cheese
sliced scallions
Prepare the sweet potatoes
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the sweet potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, add the chili powder and season with salt and black pepper. Toss to coat, then arrange in a single layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the sweet potatoes are tender and browning at the edges.
Prepare the mushroom gravy
Add the broth and dried shiitakes to a medium saucepan and place on high heat. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the shiitakes from the saucepan and set aside. Transfer the broth to a bowl.
Return the saucepan to the stove, add the butter and melt it over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and thyme, and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the warm broth, whiskey (if using), tamari, miso, and pepper. Stir, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Transfer the mixture to blender or use a handheld immersion blender and blend until smooth. Return to the stove and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes or until thickened. Set aside.
Prepare the sauteed shiitakes
Thinly slice the rehydrated shiitakes. Melt the butter in a skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat, then add the shiitakes and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, tamari, and pepper. Stir, then immediately remove from the heat to prevent burning.
Assemble the poutine
Divide the sweet potato fries among four individual bowls. Top with crumbled feta, gravy, and sautéed shiitakes. Sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve.
Notes from Murielle:
Looking for a more traditional poutine? Use russet or Yukon Gold potatoes instead of sweet potatoes.
Feel free to swap the shallots (eschalots) in the gravy with red onion or yellow (brown) onion
Although the whiskey is optional, I really recommend it! It adds another layer of flavor and makes the ingredients come alive. If you only have bourbon on hand, feel free to use that instead.
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🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
correct, there is nothing more perfect than a bowl of fries!
Chicken salt is so sublime on fries — in my pre-veg days when we lived in Kingston, Ontario, there was a place that served their french fries in this way and when you mentioned it, I was immediately transported. So glad that you enjoy Murielle’s work too — thanks for mentioning my review! Love how good food and unique voices in food connect us all 💗