Garbage Poutine

GARBAGE POUTINE

Barry Serrao, Executive Chef at Paintbox Bistro, Toronto

Were you at this year’s Terroir Symposium? If so you may have eaten Barry Serrao’s Garbage Poutine as part of the Trashed at Terroir lunch programme which saw rescued foods refashioned into tasty new meals.

This dish is riff on Canada’s classic poutine with different serving suggestions. “I know calling this Poutine is a stretch” Barry says, “but every time I garnish with fried potatoes I feel I owe the Quebecois credit and in my opinion, if you don’t impose the sauce or garnish on people you can’t call it a poutine!”

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INGREDIENTS

  • 5-6 potatoes of your choice 

  • 2 cups chopped kale stems (approx. from 1 bunch of kale)

  • 1 tbsp finely diced shallot

  • Zest & juice from 1 lime 

  • 1/2 orange, juiced

  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic

  • 2 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil 

  • 1 tbsp each of chopped parsley, mint & cilantro

RECIPE

For the potatoes: 

Wash the potatoes and then peel the skin into strips.  Soak the peels in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

For the kale pesto:

Prepare the pesto while the peels are soaking.  Roughly chop the kale stems before adding to a food processor. Pulse until the stems are well broken down - excessive processing time could alter the flavor and texture of the other ingredients. Once the kale has reach a fine consistency add the rest of the pesto ingredients and process for another 30 seconds to a minute, being very careful not to heat up the pesto. If you do this in a blender you’ll acheive a smoother texture. 

Let the pesto rest for a few minutes to allow all the flavors to come together whilst you fry the potatoes…

Frying the potato skins: 

Drain and dry the potato peels well. Heat a pan over medium/high heat and add oil.  Wait until oil reaches 325°F before adding peels. Add a small handful of the peels to the pan and fry until the bubbles are almost gone - be careful this happen quickly and the peels will turn from golden to dark brown.  Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and put on a paper towel, salt immediately.

Leave to stand for few minutes (if you can resist!)

To serve:

Cover the skins in the pesto and add other optional garnishes such as thinly sliced radishes and any tiny baby kale leaves from the centre of the bunch.