Inspired by..... 7: Sweet Potato Poutine- can be gluten free

Koko's Kitchen is a fantastic vegan blog from Canada that is often raw, super healthy and 100 percent delicious. Koko also runs her own fresh juice company. I've been a regular reader for some time now, and I don't think I ever saw a recipe of hers that I didn't absolutely love the sound of! The other day she posted a poutine recipe to celebrate Canada Day. (Poutine, fyi, is a traditional Canadian dish comprising chips (fries) in gravy with melted cheese on top. It was not the first time I'd seen it veganised, but  Koko's lovely pictures and mouthwatering words made me decide once and for all to have a go at a Yogi Vegans version. I've used coated orange sweet potatoes for the baked "fries" and almond and tahini cheeze instead of cashew cheeze as we were out of cashews. I also omitted the garlic from the miso gravy. It's not a fussy dish to make, and our recipe serves 2-3 as a main meal, 3-4 as a starter or snack. Scroll down below the next picture for the recipe:

For the "fries":
4 medium-sized orange sweet potatoes, cut into slim "French fries"
2 tabs olive oil
1/2-1tsp seasalt or Himalayan pink salt
1/2 tsp coarsely-ground black pepper
4 rounded tabs potato flour

• Pour the oil onto a large baking tray and toss the fries in it.
• Meanwhile, mix the potato flour, salt and pepper in a bowl.
• Toss the sweet potato in this mixture and return to the tray, spreading them out into a single layer- you may need more than one tray to do this.
• Bake in an oven preheated to 200C until chewy/ crispy.

For the gravy:

2 tabs mugi (barley) miso

250ml (1 cup) warm water

1 tsp paprika

1/2tsp compound hing

1 tab tamari sauce (optional; it does increase the saltiness)

1tab olive oil

1tab wholemeal flour or gluten free flour

• Make a roux with the oil and flour, using a balloon husk over a gentle heat.
• Remove from the heat and blend in the miso, tamari, hing and paprika.
• Return to a low heat and gradually whisk in the warm water. The gravy will thicken up if you leave it to stand, so you may want to dilute it before you heat to serve.

For the cheese:

125g whole almonds

225ml water

1rounded tab yeast flakes

2 tabs lemon juice

1scant tsp sea salt

1 flat tab tahini

• First grind the almonds using a high speed blender or a grinder.
• If you don't have a high speed blender just whisk in the remaining ingredients. If using a high speed blender,just throw them all in and whizz up for a few seconds on the high setting.

To assemble:

Just pour gravy over the fries, top with the cheese and grill if you want. Garnish with curly or flat-leaved parsley, or even coriander, like I did.