This recipe is lighter than the Quebecois version. Instead of meat gravy and fresh cheese curds, this vegetarian recipe uses oven fries, mushroom gravy, and queso fresco. Fresh cheese curds aren’t easy to find in Boston, unlike the Latin American queso fresco, which is delicious, light, and works great for poutine.

It’s hard to argue for a U.S. contribution that justifies the term “Pan-American” (french fries are probably Belgian in origin and vegetarianism is far older than our country) but we’ll take the credit for being the critical middle man, until a bridge is built from Mexico to Canada.

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen oven fries (my favorite brand is Ore-Ida crispy fries)
• 8 oz queso fresco
• about 1/2 of this mushroom gravy recipe
• green onions, chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic

Directions

1. Prepare the mushroom gravy and preheat the oven.
2. Toss frozen french fries in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread the fries on a baking sheet (and sprinkle the optional red pepper flakes and garlic on top) and bake the fries according to the instructions on the package.
4. 5 minutes before the fries are done, top them with queso fresco.
5. Once the fries are done, top with mushroom gravy, green onions, and serve while hot.
6. Enjoy the delicious advantage of living between Canada and Latin America!

Serves 4-5 people.

Posted by: danar