Spiced Cauliflower and Purple Potato Poutine

Post in collaboration with Iceland Foods

The combination of crispy purple potato chips and spicy cauliflower saturated with thick meaty gravy and topped with stringy mozzarella cheese results in a twist on Canadian Poutine which is comforting, colourful, moreish and satisfying.

I've been working with Iceland Foods for 14 months now and my eyes have really been opened to both the #PowerOfFrozen and the huge variety, quality and versatility of the products that they stock. If you've not yet ventured into your local Iceland, or you've not been recently then do give it try - I promise that you'll be surprised - in a good way. I've now created eleven recipes for Iceland with a variety of briefs from BBQ to Back to School, Vegan to Unconventional Christmas and Valentines to British Pie Week but the brief for May was the most exciting yet. A mystery goody bag of Iceland’s new and hero products! Just like Ready Steady Cook but thankfully I had more than 20 minutes and there was to be no Green Peppers and Red Tomatoes vote off at the end. Everyone's a winner with the #PowerOfFrozen 

I collected a couple of bags of frozen goodies from my local store at Aberdeen's Beach Retail Park. As soon as I was back at my car I tipped everything out into the boot and had a good old rummage - I was way too impatient to wait until I'd driven home to find out what was in my mystery bags. I was delighted to spot a couple of pack of Millies Cookie Dough. These are a big hit with both my kids and I've previously used them to make Ice Cream Cookiewiches. The rest of the contents were completely new to me and I was particularly keen to try out some of the 'Taste of Summer' range. We've now worked our way through the Sausage Skewers, Belgian Blue Beef Steaks, Dirty Wedges and Peri Peri Spatchcock Chicken. The latter of which my son declared as being better than Nandos. However the two products that really grabbed my attention were the Purple Potato Chips and the Spiced Cauliflower. These would be the basis of my Mystery Goody Bag Recipe, a twist on the classic comfort food that is Poutine. 

Poutine (pronounced putin) is a Canadian dish which we in the UK tend to think of as chips, cheese and gravy but its actually way more complex than that. The story goes that it was invented in the 1950's in in rural French speaking Quebec when a diner asked the chef to put cheese curds on top of his chips. The chef protested "Ça va faire une maudite poutine!" (It will make a damn mess!) but nonetheless he obliged and poutine was born. However the dish wasn't quite finished and the story goes that gravy was added to keep the chips warmer for longer. Whatever the truth behind their creation there's no denying that they are mighty fine. I reckon that poutine would also be amazing made with some of Bintu's African Yam Fries. 

To be true to the Canadian recipe the cheese needs to be squeaky cheese curds however I've substituted with the more readily available Mozzarella. As for the gravy it should be a mix of of chicken and beef. My secret ingredient to pep up any gravy, whether it be homemade or my more usual granules, is a splash of Thai Fish Sauce. It really does work wonders. Of course if you'd like to keep this dish vegetarian feel free to substitute for a veggie friendly gravy. The combination of crispy purple potato chips and spicy cauliflower saturated with thick meaty gravy and topped with stringy mozzarella cheese results in a Poutine which is comforting, colourful, moreish and satisfying.

Spiced Cauliflower and Purple Potato Chips Poutine

600g Iceland Purple Potato Chips

250g Iceland Spiced Cauliflower in an Indian Style Dressing

150g Mozzarella Ball, torn into chunks

2 Tbsp Chicken Gravy Granules

2 Tbsp Beef Gravy Granules

1 tsp Thai Fish Sauce

(or substitute with a vegetarian gravy)

Preheat the oven to 200c

Remove outer packaging from the Spiced Cauliflower and pierce film lid several times.

Place foil tray on a baking sheet near the middle of the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove film from the cauliflower, stir well and turn up the oven temperature to 220c 

Tip the Purple Potato Chips onto a baking tray and place on the top shelf of the oven.

Cook the chips for 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking time.

Meanwhile make up the gravy granules with 300ml of boiling water, stir through the Thai fish sauce and keep warm.

Check to see that the chips and cauliflower are cooked. (For a perfect poutine the chips must be really crispy so they retain their crunch even after the gravy has been poured on top. So give them an extra 5 minutes if you think they need it.)

Arrange the chips and cauliflower in a pre-warmed ovenproof serving dish.

Scatter the torn Mozzarella on top and return to the oven for 5 minutes (or use a blowtorch/place under a preheated grill) until the cheese has melted and is beginning to turn golden around the edges.

Pour over the gravy and serve immediately.

Find out what my food blogging friends made with the contents of their #PowerOfFrozen Goody Bags

• Recipes from a Pantry - Jerk Shrimp Tacos with Sweetcorn, Mango and Pineapple
• Little Sunny Kitchen - Beef Ranch Burgers
• The Hedgecombers - Red Shrimp Tempura with Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce 
• Veggie Desserts - Cookie Cheesecake Parfait with Berries

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned recipe for Iceland Foods. As always, all views expressed are my own. 

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