Tag: poutine

Poutine Latkes

I could NOT be more excited about today’s recipe because it’s all about one of my favorite things….POUTINE! If you’ve never heard of it, it’s because it’s a Canadian specialty, and you probably have never had a chance to try it in the U.S. When I visited Montreal recently with my family, I tried poutine again for the first time in years, and I just wanted to keep going back for more!

Traditional Poutine is made with french fries and cheese curds which are smothered in gravy. Of course kosher poutine is a bit of a challenge, because A. kosher cheese curds are not available in the U.S. and B. it’s hard to create a rich gravy without using stock and drippings. I have mastered the art of KOSHER POUTINE and I couldn’t be more ecstatic!!


First, the cheese curds. Cheese curds are the solid parts of soured milk, and are sometimes referred to as squeaky cheese. I had the brilliant idea to pull apart shreds of fresh mozzarella, and they did the perfect job of resembling the curds, both in look and texture. I think they work wonderfully as a sub for the traditional.


Now onto the gravy! How do you get a truly rich gravy without much work, and without drippings? You turn to UMAMI flavors like soy sauce and parmesan. They give the gravy that depth of flavor that you can’t get in a vegan recipe. Of course this makes the gravy dairy, but your poutine is smothered in fresh mozzarella cheese curds anyway, so the more the merrier!


Actually, the dairy part of this is what really got me thinking about turning it into a Chanukah recipe. Dairy is customarily eaten on Chanukah to remember the bravery of Yehudit, a young widow who lived in Bethulia in the land of Judea. To save Jerusalem from a paralyzing siege and approaching enemy troops, Yehudit seduced a Greek general into a drunken slumber by feeding him salty cheese and quenching his thirst with strong wine. As the general slept, she beheaded him with a sword. After finding that their general had been killed, the Greek army fled in disarray.


There’s no doubt that smothering potato latkes (mini or otherwise) in cheese curds and gravy might put us all in drunken slumber, but trust me when I tell you, it’s worth it. Even if you need to take a nap afterwards!


This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on FacebookTwitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Other Chanukah Recipes:

confetti latkes with harissa sour cream 
gluten free butternut squash latkes
cheese latkes with raspberry sauce
fried zucchini parmesan chips

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