A gal I work with at the restaurant just got a certain high-powdered blender. She rolls into work with three brightly coloured 1-litre jars of blended fruit, vegetables, herbs, and other goodies every night, and she is just SO NOTICEABLY STOKED on the surge of wellness it’s bringing into her life. That all-encompassing potential of one simple change/addition. Her energy and commitment has been contagious, so I’ve been getting cozy with my old blender pal, sure, but also re-focusing on movement, rest, water, deep breaths, and food that’s nourishing in all ways. Spring-like thoughts, right?
At any rate, it’s a good time to ask if certain habits or things are propelling you forward or drawing you back. I started getting caught up in this idea that I needed to show up here with a certain type of recipe. Something that doesn’t take too long, is hearty enough for a main, that doesn’t have too many weird health food store ingredients etc. Maybe pepper in some descriptors like “GENIUS”, “30 minute”, and “crave-worthy” and you’d be almost there. But really, the good stuff happens when I just show you what we’re eating in real time.
When we renovated the kitchen, a duct bringing miso gravy right into the building would have been ideal for me, seriously. It’s easy enough to make though and this is evidenced by how often I actually do get a little pot going. I pour it over some easy-going roasted sweet potato fries here that I’ve dressed up with a bit of curry powder, garlic, and garnishes. It hits all the right buttons. Other amazing loaded-style fries on the internet!: Sherrie’s with green goddess tahini, Stephanie’s with tofu, and Jodi’s with shiitake bacon.
Also, I was on my pal Jessica’s podcast last week. It’s worth a listen if you like Drake, blog-related discussions, and some long-term relationship tidbits. Link here! xoxo
Curry Garlic Sweet Potato Fries with Miso Gravy
Ingredients
Curry Garlic Sweet Potato Fries
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled + lightly smashed with the back of your knife (these will be roasted for a bit and then added to the miso gravy)
- salt + pepper to taste
- ½ cup cooked black beans
- 1-2 green onions, sliced thin
Miso Gravy
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable stock, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon chili paste/sriracha
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mellow white miso
- 1 tablespoon whole spelt flour OR 2 tsp arrowroot powder for gluten-free option
- fresh ground black pepper
Notes
- If you’re using the spelt flour as your gravy-thickening agent, you can make up the gravy ahead of time and reheat it at your leisure (yay!). If you’re using the arrowroot powder, I recommend eating the gravy right away. The thickening powers of the arrowroot don’t hold up when reheated and, conversely, thin out the liquid they’ve been added to. I’ve also read that King Arthur’s gluten-free all purpose flour mix is excellent for making gravy/thickened sauces.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Peel the sweet potatoes if you like (I don’t) and cut them into 1/2 inch batons (you know, like, fries). Lay the cut sweet potatoes on the lined baking sheet and toss them with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, curry powder, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. Lay the fries out in a singular layer, as spaced out as you can.
- Slide the tray into the oven and roast the fries for 20 minutes. Take the fries out, remove the garlic cloves and place them on a cutting board. Flip and toss the fries and return them to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly crisped and thoroughly cooked through.
- Chop the roasted garlic cloves up roughly.
- While the fries are roasting, make the gravy. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 cup of vegetable stock, the thyme, chili paste, maple syrup, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Bring it to a light boil. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock, white miso, and spelt flour (or arrowroot if using) until no major lumps remain. Add the miso mixture to the lightly simmering stock mixture in the pot.
- Whisk the gravy in the saucepan until it’s thickened up enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Take it off the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Pour the strained gravy over the curry sweet potato fries and garnish the whole thing with the cooked black beans and sliced green onions.
Omg!! Best thing ever!!! Sweet and spicy!! My hubby and I couldn’t stop eating these!! They are absolutely amazing!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made this today and it was delicious!
How many calories?
Made this today… I love it. I’m such a sauce girl so I’m really excited to have found this. So simple to make and tastes yummy!
This is heaven! Love love this! Thankyou!
OMG this gravy was to die for! I’ve never had normal gravy on chips before because it never appealed to me, but man oh man I will be making this to go on everything now! So quick and easy too. I didn’t have any sweet potato so made potato, parsnip and carrot fries and was also delicious.
I love healthy and nutritious recipes….like this one ofcourse…
This sounds So bomb. I love sweet potato fries, but I kinda struggle to make em ‘wow.’ This is it!! x
Sooo, I just made this tonight. It was delicious! And pretty easy too. I used dried thyme instead of fresh because I didn’t have any.
My boyfriend, who is definitely not vegan, also said it’s some of the best (almost) poutine he’s ever had. He still wants cheese curds, but close enough. Thanks for the great recipe!!
All of my favorite foods. In a bowl. I am so loving this!
This looks and sounds amazing, Laura! Miso gravy? Seriously? And how on earth did you know that I’ve dreamt of a dish with black beans and sweet potatoes? Love it. xx
Would it be wrong to call this poutine? I’m loving the sound of the miso gravy and this just screams pure comfort and deliciousness to me- can’t wait to try this, mmmm! I also roll into work with jars of goodness blended from my Vitamix, and I am not exaggerating when I say I have no idea how my life would be like without a great blender!
This looks and must taste absolutely awesome! Thank you for this inspiring recipe. I’m definitely going to make it!! :)
So I’ve been reading The First Mess for years.. and I simply always love everything you do Laura! Your recipes are ever reliable, creative and just gosh darn tasty. I just had to comment on this one though – I lived in Vancouver for a year around the corner from the Naam and have been craving their Miso gravy ever since. No longer. This recipe is the bomb! Thanks so much from a happy, full bellied fan. x
Hey Naomi! Thanks for this incredibly kind comment. So lovely of you to say hello. Stoked that you enjoyed the miso gravy too! :)
UM MISO GRAVY HELLURRRRRRR. Can we just stop and talk about this for like a crazy long time. Preferably while making it. With the fries in the oven. And some yummy superfood lattes in our hands? Yah? Ok yah. I cannot wait to try this.
Also, I know it’s not a real barrier, but it feels like a big deal to break the Insta-barrier and say hi over here on your gorgeous blog. Which was, truly, one of the very first that inspired me. Ok, fangirling over. You rock. xo’s from LA.
I just smiled huge reading this! I love your work, Lily so this is some real fine mutual admiration :) xo
MmMmMm! This looks and sounds so super tasty. I will definitely be making it tomorrow. I think I’ll throw some broccoli into the roast with the sweet potatoes too :)
xo
A vegetarian gravy… be still my heart! Wouldn’t mind taking a spoon to that deliciousness!
This recipe looks delicious, I love all your posts! I was wondering if they sell the Westbrae White Mellow Miso anywhere in Canada?
Hey Sarah! Thanks so much. I actually picked up the Westbrae miso in the USA on a recent trip. We live really close to a border crossing, so we make fancy grocery runs sometimes ;)
-L
This is seriously good, I just love sweet potatoes. I did add half teaspoon powder made from fennel seeds crushed with mortar& pestle.
I love the idea of the miso gravy!!
Viva la sweet potato fries…I love them with cumin and this dish looks like I can enjoy it as a meal and with all the variations you offer in this post…well that’s sweet potato every night of the week! Happy Feasting.
Yes! Cumin and sweet potatoes are a total dream team. One of my favourite go-to combinations. I could definitely do a sweet potato every night too ;)
-L
I had to stop by and say that I made this last night and it was AMAZING. That gravy is A++. I love relatively easy dinners that I don’t have to go to the store to make!
Woohoo! So glad you liked it, Jo :)
-L
New flavors, new season, holla! These look mighty fine Laura. Thanks for the shout-out too friend, xo.
Oh my gosh this sounds like heaven! Sweet potato fries and miso – count me IN!
Omg, this is my dream dinner. YUM!
These fries looks very delicious, Laura! Love the use of miso! yumm!
I am currently listening to the podcast wishing I had some sweet potato fries at 10:30am.
It’s so true that a lot of blog recipes these days seem to be crafted just to get page views, not for the sake of just enjoying the dish and wanting to share it. I like that you stay authentic though. :) These fries look amaaaaaaazing!
So good, Laura! No need to complicate things or over think it, the best meals come together when you’re not forcing it! Way to reunite with your blender, it’s such a confused time of year in terms of fresh, local produce – this dish seems to have solved that problem. Happy long weekend xo
You’ve really got me with that miso gravy business. I’ve been sick for the last week and been living off miso soup, I’m pretty sure its replaced all blood in my veins, but gravy?! Things are starting to perk up now!
ooh, these fries look delicious, Laura! that miso gravy…. love! <3
Ha here’s your catchy-Pinterest name: Easy Vegan Poutine !!!!
NAILED IT! ;) ;) ;)
-L
Yum! I have to make this!!
Um hell yes to that duct with miso gravy thing. I make a sweet potato miso poutine thing with goat cheese.. not the vegan vibes for here but so so good. Love your podcast last week. I love that there is more a voice now when i read these post after hearing you in real life!! love it. xo
That poutine sounds amazing! Thanks for listening to the podcast too :)
-L
Good god, this sounds over the top delicious. Super into the sound of this miso gravy – can’t wait to try it. Looking forward to listening to the podcast as well!
I totally feel you on the not feeling inspired thing every once in a while. We go through periods of that every once in a while, especially when it seems like we’re seeing the same ingredients in the markets week after week. Sometimes I find that I can get some of my inspiration back if I do a random cooking “project”. Like the stuff that isn’t really for a meal, but is just fun stuff you’ve always wanted to try–like making fresh pasta, or making cured egg yolks, or making a complicated dessert.
Laura, just listed your podcast with Jessica while sitting in my cube at work! So fresh and fun and real. I loved it. Loved listening to your voice and your thoughts on life, your blog, everything! So good. Now it’s lunch time and I’m drooling over these amazing looking fries with that miso gravy(!!!) – not really looking forward to my kinda same-old salad desk-lunch routine. ;)
I bet you make a baller salad desk lunch though, lady :) xo
dang girl….miso gravy on everything please, especially these sweet potato fries. i was wondering what magic you were going to whip up when i saw those tiny cuties on insta. possibly (no, most definitely) the sweetest sweet potatoes i ever did see.
ps – i feel ya on how what works best is just showing what you eat. sometimes i get caught up in that too, wanting everything to seem “easy.” but hard things can be fun too right? ;)
Yes! Some of my favourite foods on the planet are time-consuming/multi-stepped. You always make easy stuff seem fancy/impressive though ;) xo
Hi Laura, I love your beautiful website and delicious recipies. At the risk of sounding nitpicky and up tight I wanted to point out that the term ‘douche-y’ is vulgar and unpleasant and in my humble opinion devalues the rest of your writing. That aside, I find your sight inspiring and all class. Cheers.
Hi Lisa, you don’t sound nitpicky or uptight at all! I guess this is just a colloquialism that I kind of casually used without really thinking about it. Sometimes I just write things exactly as I would say them to a friend here, and sometimes that doesn’t convey things the way I want. Anyway, I’m going to edit it in light of your comment, and will try to maintain a “keep it classy” sorta mantra :)
-L
Yum! This looks soooo good! I love your photography and website design. Gorgeous, stuff! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Pinned!
GASP. these fries!!! they’re everything i want!
Miso gravy + mayo?! Sweet potato fries have a whole new purpose, this is a must-try. I caught your podcast with Jessica and it was such a great listen. Really helpful to hear from other creatives on the trials that come with generating income as a freelance-based worker and not being afraid to assign value to the work you create. Keep up the super amazing-ness, Laura.
Yes! We all gotta work hard together to get what’s ours. Our work has worth! Sending hugs, girl. xo
Oh man, yesterday I ate gravy by the spoonful and over toast, so I’m alllll over this! I want a gravy duct in my house now.
This: https://youtu.be/XdLBkAyQSmo?t=253 ;) (but also: watch the whole thing cuz it’s hilarious)
Hahahaa, that is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. ‘Wait, that’s pepper!’ haha
hot dang, girl, these fries are everything i want in a snack! i was just playing around with miso gravy the other day too and it was a revelation! so i can just imagine how insane it must have tasted with these curried taters! totally loved listening to you and jessica, you two should have a weekly show – too good! cheers to inspiration and april! hope you’re having a good start to the month <3
So excited that you listened to the podcast, girl! xo
Oh my golly. This looks just a whole lot of awesome. I love miso gravy!!! I made a similar dish the other night using vegan mushroom gravy, but I feel like miso would be incredible!! Thanks for the inspiration:)
I add sautéed mushrooms to this miso gravy recipe aaaaallll the time. Super delicious.
-L
Ooooh, you’ve got my interest now! I haven’t had miso in the kitchen since I used up the last jar, er, last summer. Yep, that’s pretty bad. I miss it a lot, so I’m going to have go get some and make this yummy dish because sweet potatoes are just amaaaazing. And I have a feeling my vegetable-hating boyfriend will actually eat this :P Thanks for this recipe!
It’s definitely vegetables disguised as slightly junky/fun times food, so hopefully your man will be into it ;)
-L
omg yess!! I’m in love with sweet potatoes at the momento haha this looks super scrumptiouuus
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
I love sweet potato fries, and garlic just tastes amazing with anything. I’d definitely chuck in some parsley for a zing of freshness or some mint!
Lauren x
This could be a perfect recipe for my bf : fries + gravy – he always need a sauce to dip his food, and I have no experience with sauces :P It will be also perfectly healthy for the boring gal – me :D !
This is one of the easiest and most flavourful sauces I make–definitely foolproof if you’re not too experienced with sauce-making. Oh and girl, there’s NO WAY you’re boring :)
-L