Nora: I remember when I first learned about poutine. Gravy… on fries. With cheese. It’s so obvious! Mashed potatoes but crunchy and with CHEESE. Ever since college I have never been able to say no to a basket of gravy-fries. If cooking them at home, we prefer tots because of their superior crunchiness when oven-baked. We haven’t been inducted to the air fryer club… yet. Treat yourself to some heady, heavy deliciousness. If it seems too decadent, just remind yourself (as I often do) that all vegan food is essentially a salad.

Josh: Our Canadian friends have a lot to teach the world about life. One of the most important things I’ve learned is how critical poutine is. Seriously, it’s amazing. It is gravy and cheese on potatoes. It’s a goddamn revelation. We’ve made poutine with all sorts of fries now but we have two clear favorites: waffle fries and, our champion, tater tots. We bake the fries to crispiness because we don’t like deep frying, but you can cook yours however you like as long as they get crispy. If you make the cheese/cheeze ahead of time to cut down overall cook time the night you’re making it, the recipe only takes maybe 20 minutes or so (whatever the time it takes to bake the fries). You won’t regret poutine, ever.

Poutine Tots

Serves: 2 generously (it’s real good, is all I’m saying), probably 3

Cook Time: 20 mins if you make the cheeze ahead of time (or 45 mins if you make the cheeze at the same time)

Omnivore Index: The vegan-ness of this doesn’t come into play because it’s incredible. The only question is whether you like gravy and cheese on spuds or not. (Nora: An omnivore will definitely know the cheeze is fake.)

Ingredients Cheeze -1/2 cup (2.25 oz) raw cashews -1 cup water -1/4 cup minus 1 teaspoon tapioca starch -1 tablespoon nutritional yeast -1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar -3/4 teaspoon salt -1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Brown Gravy -2 tablespoons oil -1 small onion, diced -4-5 button mushrooms, sliced -2 cups veggie broth -1 tablespoon soy sauce -3 tablespoons corn starch -Tots, bag of frozen or homemade -Green Onions, for garnish

Recipe Make the cashew cheese ahead of time so it has time to cool. 1. Boil cashews 10-15 min, until softened. Drain and rinse. 2. Add all cheeze ingredients and blend in high power blender until smooth, at least 1 minute. (Will appear to be watery, but fear not.) 3. Pour into small saucepan and heat on medium-high heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom. It will curdle and look a little gross but keep stirring until thickened and stretchy, about 5 mins. 4. Scrape into a shallow dish and chill in fridge at least 30 mins. 5. Once solid, scoop small “curds” onto the poutine with a teaspoon or melon baller. Tots 1. Bake according to package directions. You want them very crispy! Brown Gravy 1. Using a medium saucepan, sautee onions and mushrooms in oil until well browned. 2. Add broth and soy sauce 3. Make a cornstarch slurry in a small dish with 3tbsp cold water. Add to gravy, simmer until thickened, about two minutes. Do not boil, since this can break down the starch and cause the gravy to thin back out. Gravy will thicken as it cools. Assemble 1. Build your meal in layers. For equal delight in every bite, make a layer of tots, topped with a layer of cheeze curds, topped with gravy, and then another layer of each in the same sequence. 2. Top with green onion 3. Smash

Notes -in this instance we used frozen tater tots but any form of potatoes could work – whether that be another form of frozen potato or homemade fries (the important thing is some crispiness to offset the rest of the dish being soft foods)

Closing Arguments

Nora: JUST GIVE THEM TO ME. Josh: Cheesy gravy fries. Think about it. Potatoes with cheese and gravy. C’mon, it’s perfect.