Potato and Cheddar Croquette Recipe
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Potato and Cheddar Croquette Recipe
When was the last time you had a croquette or even looked at a croquette recipe? They seem so rare. I have never been in a mall where you can walk into the food court and have the opportunity to purchase a nice potato croquette. We do not even seem inclined to whip out our fryers and fry up a batch. Both of these situations are a real shame. In other countries, like The Netherlands and Belgium, they are not only on the menu in many restaurants, but they come as main dishes. They can even be found wrapped in small buns and sold as sandwiches. If you have a hankering for one, you can just pop down to the hole in the wall place, drop a 1.50 into the slot, open the little door and there waiting for you is a crunchy croquette for the taking.
Usually the filling of Dutch croquettes are made from a flour mixture. I prefer a potato croquette recipe myself. They seem more natural that way. There is one facet of croquettes that has always amazed me. It seems a croquette can stay hot for about year after it has been fried. How many times I have burnt my tongue on a croquette after having left it to cool for what seems like a reasonable amount of time. Some weird croquette physics is definitely going on. Maybe that is why we don’t eat them. There is really nothing worse than a burnt tongue.
There are many a croquette recipe available and, therefore, many a molten center to try. Anything from ham in Spain to chicken satay in Amsterdam can make its way into the center of a croquette to good effect. Keeping them simple is the best way to go and really the make up of a croquette center can be as few 2 ingredients. For example, aside form salt and pepper, a potato and cheddar croquette recipe can make a great croquette with with only 2 ingredients for the center, as expected – potato and cheddar cheese.
Much excitement has previously been built around croquettes made from leftover mashed potatoes, and I am sure to some the idea of having leftover mashed potatoes is just unthinkable. Who does not love a good mash and if they are really buttery and creamy, it would be no wonder that they all disappeared.
But you do not need to go through mashed potatoes to get to croquettes. It is not compulsory that a croquette recipe start with leftover mashed potatoes.
A potato filling can be made by simply boiling and freshly mashing some potatoes. Many a flavor can be added to the potato filling by boiling the potato in a stock instead of just water. A plain potato croquette is not to be frowned upon, but cheddar cheeses is a nice addition to the coalesced center. An addition of some smoked paprika or ancho chilli powder goes well with the cheese.
As far a the crunch is concerned, the classic dredge method used to bread chicken or fry cheese (as well as countless other foods) works just as well for croquettes. Flour, eggs and bread crumb (or other crumb of your choosing) are magic and never fail to make a great croquette.
The deep fryer 
Here is a video showing how to make my potato and cheddar croquette recipe. It is worth mentioning that in the video it does not show consumption of croquettes as a sandwich, but I recommend it. Sandwich a croquette between a soft roll with some nice grainy mustard and you have a hit. Just don’t bite into it while it is hot!
- 2 lb of potatoes - a starchy type potato is best
- 1/2 lb of sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tbsp of smoked paprika or ancho chilli powder
- 1 cup of flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper
- oil for the deep fryer
- On the fine grate side of a box grater, grate the cheese.
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes in to a medium dice.
- Cook the potatoes in boiling water until the potatoes are fork tender about 20 minutes. Drain and let cool.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, mash them with a fork, wooden spoon or hand mixer until they are smooth. Small lumps won't make a difference. Add the cheese and mix until it is well incorporated. Add the paprika or ancho chilli powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Lay out three shallow plates. In the first put the flour. In the second beat the eggs and put the breadcrumbs in the third.
- Roll a heaping tablespoonful of filling into a ball. Roll the ball first in the flour, shaking off the excess, then roll the floured ball of filling in the egg allowing the excess to drip off, then roll the egg washed ball in the breadcrumbs coating it completely. Repeat until all the filling is used. Let the breaded balls sit 5 minutes.
- Fill the deep fryer and heat it to 350F according to the manufacturers instructions. Fry the croquettes a few at a time for 1.5-2 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve hot with spicy mustard.
- The croquettes can alternatively be fried on the stove top in a sautee pan in about 1/2 inch of hot oil (350F).
I Hope You Enjoy!
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