RAW VEGAN POUTINE: IS THIS REAL LIFE?

Yes, yes, this is real life. My friend told me awhile ago that I should try making a raw vegan version of a Canadian culinary favourite: poutine. This is the result and I've gotta say I'm pretty happy with it. Poutine is a dish that originates from Quebec (if I'm not mistaken) and includes a hearty serving of french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. Not exactly a health food but hey, people love it. And I love this. Well... loved*. It's in my stomach now.

The "fries" are slices of jicama (a turnip-like sweet root) coated in spices and olive oil, the gravy is a mushroom-onion sauce and the "cheese curds" are spoonfuls of a creamy cashew-herb cheeze. I added avocado and chives to mine for extra colour and more textures. I'm not claiming this tastes like the original, and it doesn't even really look like it, but guess what: I don't care. This is a delicious, healthful recipe all by itself that just happens to be inspired by poutine, and there's nothing wrong about that. Dig in.

RAW VEGAN POUTINE with MUSHROOM GRAVY, CASHEW CHEEZE & JICAMA FRIES 

Fries:
1 jicama 
1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, turmeric, coriander, salt, pepper, chili
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 

Gravy:
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 onion
2 teaspoons tamari (or salt, to taste)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
2 dates
Water, as needed

Cashew cheeze:
1 cup cashews
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon each of basil, rosemary, turmeric, dill
Water, as needed

To make the fries: peel and slice the jicama into fries then coat in the other ingredients and dehydrate for a few hours or leave as is. You can also use your oven at it's lowest temperature. 

To make the gravy: blend all the ingredient until smooth, adding water as needed. Adjust according to taste. 

To make the cheeze: same instructions as the gravy, adding as little water as possible. Leave in the fridge overnight so it thickens up. Top off your fries with cheeze, grazy, chives and avocado. Some salsa and nut meat would be great additions too. Nom.