West Coast Poutine

This creative take on a Canadian classic by our friend and member Steve W., incorporates our wild, lake caught arctic char and our fresh mussels which are grilled to perfection in this delicious comfort dish.

He notes that when he cooks the fish, he usually trims it up so it looks nice for presentation. Then he keeps all the assorted fish trimming in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients

For Seafood:

• 1 1/4 cups of Skipper Otto arctic char (or substitute with salmon)
• 6-10 mussels, cleaned
• salt & pepper to taste

For Seafood Sauce:

• 1/2 cup of assorted fish trimmings including skin
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups full fat milk or heavy cream
• 1 tsp English mustard (optional)
• 1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

For Fries:

• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into approximately 1 cm thick fries
• 1/2 cup cheese curds (found in most grocery stores)
• vegetable oil for frying
• salt to taste

Directions

For Fries:

1. Cut potatoes to 1 cm thickness, place in bowl, cover with water and let sit while oil heats up
2. For the first cook, heat the oil to 165 C / 325 F
3. Pat fries dry and cook in two batches to avoid an excessive temperature drop in the oil
4. Cook the fries for approximately 5 minutes. During the first cook, the fries should not brown, but inside will get nice and soft. Let the fries rest on a cooling rack until you’re ready for the second cook.

For Seafood Sauce:

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan
2. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft
3. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes
4. Add the flour and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste
5. Add the milk a little at a time, and mix well until smooth
6. Reduce heat to low and add the fish trimmings, mustard and anchovy paste if using.
7. Let cook for 5-10 minutes, then strain the sauce through a sieve into another small saucepan. Keep the sauce warm while you grill the fish and mussels

For Fish and Mussels:

1. Preheat BBQ to medium high heat
2. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper
3. Spray fish with vegetable oil and / or spray the grill grates
4. Grill the fish turning once until cooked through, about 6-7 minutes. Once cooked, remove and keep warm.
5. Add the mussels directly to the grill during the last 1-2 minutes of the fish cooking
6. Remove the mussels once the shells open which will only take a few minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Keep warm along with the fish while you finish off the fries.

Putting it all together:

1. For the second cook of the fries, increase oil temperature to 200 C / 400 F and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. You want crispy fries in order to stand up to the cheese curds and seafood sauce / gravy. Season with salt & pepper to taste
2. To serve, add a pile of fries to the plate. Top with half of the cheese curds then cover the curds and fries with the warm seafood sauce. Top with the grilled arctic char and add the mussels.
3. Garnish with whatever you have on hand. Pea shoots or lumpfish caviar work perfectly with this dish.

Servings: 2 people

Recipe kindly shared by member Steve W.