Incredibly Easy Poutine

With lockdown 2 in full swing, we’re looking for both comforting and easy recipes we can make with long lasting ingredients. Poutine may sound fancy, but is essentially a Quebecois take on chips and gravy, with added cheese curds served on top. Whilst I haven’t been able to find cheese curds on sale anywhere, I’ve been able to make this equally delicious vegetarian alternative which is perfect for ‘zhuzhing’ up those oven chips lingering in the freezer.

Ingredients

• Any brand of oven chips
• Goats cheese (I used Asda’s own soft goats cheese, but if you don’t have goats cheese, you can use ricotta or cottage cheese for a similar effect.)

For the gravy

• 1 white onion
• 3-4 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 tsp Caster sugar
• Vegetable stock

Method

1. Preheat the oven according to the oven chips instructions. They tend to vary but as they usually take around half an hour, this is roughly the same time as it will take to make the gravy.
2. Slice your onions and fry in a pan with some oil until they start to turn brown. Once this happens, add roughly 3-4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 3-4 tablespoons of sugar. (I never said this recipe would be healthy!)
3. Keep frying on a medium temperature until they are crispy and a nice dark brown colour. I recommend tasting to make sure you’ve got the vinegar/sugar ratio right).
4. Add the vegetable stock and simmer until it reduces. The longer you can leave it the better as the flavour only gets richer – ideally leave it for at least 20 mins. However, it’s not a particular thick gravy so can be taken off the heat whenever.
5. Once the chips are done, place in a bowl and top with the gravy. Any excess gravy can be refrigerated and used for a variety of dishes.
6. Rip up your goats cheese and scatter on top. This adds a nice creamy tang in contrast to the sweetness of the gravy, and melts together for a really nice flavour. 

Voila! This is perfect comfort food to transport you out of terrible tier systems and into Toronto! 

The great thing about this recipe is that whilst I’m a big fan of the flavour combo here, depending on what’s available at your local shop it’s easy to swap any aspects with limitless variations – meat gravy, ricotta and curly fries is one I just thought of! If you have any particularly good combos you’ve found, let us know!