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Croquettes

Delicious, creamy, tasty, economical, brilliant with salads, excellent with chips, and so easy to make. I can never understand why people buy them, when they can make them cheaper, and better, in no time at all.

No freezer should be considered complete without these little life-savers.

The variety of croquets is almost endless, so I will show you the four steps to making superb croquettes, and then it's up to you to let your imagination run wild.

Have fun, experiment, what can happen? After all you are probably making them with left overs anyway!

The 4 basic ingredients

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There are four basic ingredients; mash, flour, an egg, and breadcrumbs, then it's down to your imagination.

Add whatever you want, just remember, you are going to be frying it, whatever it is.

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MASH

I tend to use left-over mash potato when I am making croquettes, or to be more accurate, I tend to make croquettes when I have left-over mash.

The mash potato should be both cold and firm before you start to make the croquettes.

Soft or runny mash will cause the croquettes to burst when fried.

"Perfect Mash" (see the MASH page) will do perfectly well, although if I am making mash specifically for croquettes, I only add butter to the potato when mashing it, that way the mash is a little firmer.

FLOUR

I find plain flour to be best. Remember, if any flour is left over after making your croquettes, it should be thrown away.

EGG

Just beat an egg, and the same applies for any left over egg, throw it away.

BREADCRUMBS

Most supermarkets sell breadcrumbs at a very reasonable price, and to be honest, they are every bit as good as home made ones. I tend to make my own, telling myself that, that way I can add spices and herbs to them as I feel fit. The truth is, you can add spices and herbs, just as easily to the shop bought breadcrumbs, so I think it is more a case that I enjoy making them, and I don't like to throw away the stale bread. The only real advantage to making your own is aesthetic, and even that is in the eye of the beholder. So, don't worry if you can't be bothered making your own, just buy some and get on with making some great croquettes.

As with the flour and the egg, the same applies to left over breadcrumbs, throw them away.

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The 4 basic steps

1)Mix the mash, with whatever you have decided to add to it, in a large bowl, until you form a rough ball, then tear pieces off the mash ball, and form them into rolls in the palm of your hand. You can make them any size you like, however, be aware that the larger they are, the more careful you need to be when you come to fry them. CROQUETTE SIZE seems like a good idea generally.

2)Roll the rolls in the flour to give them a fine coating. You do not want lumps of flour on them. Rolling them in the palm of your hand after coating them, will get rid of excess flour.

3)Roll them in the beaten egg. I find it best to do batches of six at a time, it allows me room on the plate to give them a good coating of egg, and also allows me to directly pass them to the breadcrumbs.

4)Roll them in the breadcrumbs.

THAT'S IT -YOU NOW HAVE CROQUETTES.

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I will now give you some ideas on what to add to your mash, in order to make great croquets. So let's start with a couple of easy ones!

Fish-Cake Croquettes

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With a left over fillet of fish (in this case hake) you can't make many fish cakes. You can however make a few fish-cake croquettes.

Just fry the fish in a little oil for about two minutes each side, then remove it from the pan and allow it to cool.

Once cool, break it into small pieces, then mix it with the mashed potato. Add dill.

Rip pieces off the mash potato mix, and form them into rolls, roll them in flour, egg, and finally breadcrumbs (as previously described), then either freeze them for future use, or fry them in vegetable oil, on a medium flame, until golden brown.

Ham and Cheese Croquettes

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Who doesn't have a couple of slices of ham left over in the fridge, or a half empty packet of grated cheese, and while we're at it,  a little cream cheese that won't serve for more than one sandwich.

Well, I did!

Slice the ham, and it it to the mash along with the grated, and cream cheese. Mix together, and mould into a ball, then rip off pieces, roll them in the palm of your hand to form rolls, roll them in flour, egg, and then finally, the breadcrumbs.

Put them into freezer bags for use later, or fry them in vegetable oil, on a medium flame, until golden brown.

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Okay, we've done a couple of easy ones, so lets make it a little bit more complicated.

Egg Bombs

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All you need is are three eggs, mash and salt. That's not too much to ask is it?

Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, and cover the yolks with salt, then leave them to rest at least ten minutes.

Line two small bowls with cling-film, then half fill then with the mash, pressing firmly so that you form a hollow in the middle.

Remove the yolks from the salt, and brush away any excess salt. The eggs will be surprisingly resilient to the touch.

Pop the yolks into the hollow in the mash, then gently cover them with a little more mash.

Remove them from the bowls, then pass them through the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs process.

Fry in vegetable oil (the oil should only ever half cover the croquettes), on a medium to low flame until golden brown.

Sausage and Black-Pudding Croquettes

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Another lot of left-overs are about to hit the dust. This time a piece of black-pudding, and a couple of sausages.

Fry the sausages and the black-pudding (or cook them in the oven if you prefer), the allow them to cool.

Once cooled, chop them into small pieces, and mix them into the mash, until you form a rough ball.

Then it's the same as always; roll, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, fry or freeze!

I've used my own breadcrumbs for this one, adding, oregano, poppy-seeds, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg, as it gives them a more rustic appeal.

Well, at least I think so anyway.

Sausage Crunchies

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Well, this time I had three sausages left over. To be fair, that doesn't really constitute left-overs, that's more just a desire to make croquettes!

Fry or oven cook the sausages, then allow them to cool.

Once cooled, cut the sausages into quarters.

Roll the mash into twelve balls (yes, balls not rolls), then push a piece of sausage into each ball, and fold the mash over it, making sure all the sausage is covered.

Then do the flour and egg bit, but, instead of breadcrumbs, roll them in fried onions (the type they sell in the supermarkets for adding to your salads).

Cook in a preheated oven at 180°c for about five minutes (ten if cooking from frozen).

If you are going to fry them, do so on a low flame, or the onion will burn.

Hot-dog Croquette

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I could have cooked the hot-dog and cut it into pieces, but then that wouldn't have been any fun.

This is great as a treat for the kids, and the not so kids, but I think it would be far better with a large Cumberland, or similar substantial, and therefore more rigid sausage.

Frying these, is like trying to fry jelly!

Cook the hot-dog, and allow it to cool.

Form a strip of mash on tin-foil, or grease-proof paper, then place the cooled bratwurst on top.

Cover the hot-dog with mash and roll it, making sure the ends are covered.

Then it's flour, egg, and breadcrumbs time.

This really is best cooked in the oven, (180°c for about ten minutes) it's too bendy to even place in the pan, let alone fry it!

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