Sweet Potato Poutine with Porcini Gravy

HomeClinics & ProgramsELLICSR KitchenSweet Potato Poutine with Porcini Gravy

Skill Level	Intermediate

Preparation Time	10 minutes	Total Time	40 minutes
Servings	4	Cost Per Serving	$1.25

Poutine

2	Medium Sweet Potatoes
1 tbsp	Olive Oil
1/4 tsp each	Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper
4 tbsp	Cheese Curds (or use Gruyere, Swiss, Mozzarella)

Porcini mushroom gravy

1/4 cup	Dried Porcini Mushrooms (if you can't find these you can use dried shiitake mushrooms)
1 tbsp	Tomato Paste
1	Shallot, minced
2 tbsp	Olive Oil
2 tbsp	Flour (any flour will work)
1 tbsp	Lemon Juice
1 tbsp	Soy Sauce
4 sprigs	Fresh Thyme
1/2 tsp	Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes well. Cut the potatoes into about 1/2 inch slices. Stack the slices and cut across them so that the pieces are evenly sized fry-shaped sticks.
Soak the potato pieces in water for about 15 minutes. Remove from the water and dry very well with paper towel.
Toss the sweet potato fries in olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven on the bottom rack for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
Place your dried mushrooms and thyme in a mason jar or bowl and cover with 1 ½ cups of boiling water. Stir in the soy sauce and tomato paste.
In a medium sized sauté pan over medium heat add the oil. Once it’s hot enough, add the shallots and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over the shallots and stir well with a whisk or wooden spoon. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and darkens, about 2 minutes. Slowly add a little of the mushroom stock at a time until it’s all in.
Continue simmering to reduce liquid until slightly thickened. Finish with a splash of lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Top your sweet potatoes with a little cheese and pour the gravy over top.

PDF link to nutrition facts table for sweet potato poutine with porcini gravy

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that your body turns into vitamin A.
Recent research has shown that consuming at least 3-5 grams of fat per serving of sweet potatoes significantly increases absorption of beta-carotene (1 teaspoon of oil, butter or margarine has 5g of fat). In this recipe, the fat in the olive oil and cheese will help maximize your body’s absorption of the beta-carotene in the sweet potatoes.
Mushrooms contain all of the essential amino acids and are a good source of the mineral selenium. Studies have shown that selenium may help lower prostate cancer risk. A long-term study found that men with the highest selenium levels were 48 percent less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than men with the lowest levels. Some smaller studies have found a link between eating foods rich in selenium and lower risk of colon and stomach cancer.