These are hugely popular and easy to make in larger quantities than I’ve given here. You can also experiment with the fillings; I’ve even used leftover Bolognese before, and though I usually cook the potatoes fresh the same day, I don’t see why this recipe couldn’t work equally well with cold, leftover mash from the fridge. As with all mashed potato recipes, the best kinds to use are the floury varieties.
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2 lb (1 kg) – or roughly 4 medium-sized potatoes
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2 tbsp cornflour
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1 egg, beaten
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1 tsp salt
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Plain flour
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Breadcrumbs
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Oil
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Step 1:
Peel and mash the potatoes in the usual way (without milk or butter).
Step 2:
Mix the mashed potatoes, cornflour, beaten egg and salt together in a bowl to make a dough then turn out onto a floured surface (use plain flour for this) and knead gently for just a minute until it all comes together into a smooth, soft ball.
Step 3:
Wrap the dough in cling film and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the fillings.
Step 4:
Warm some oil in a large frying pan while you finely chop the red onion, mushroom and ham (or gammon) then put the onions in and cook for a few minutes before moving them over to one side of the pan and frying the mushrooms. (Cook them separately if you prefer, but I don’t see the point of getting more than one pan dirty when it doesn’t matter if you get a bit of crossover between the two ingredients.)
Step 5:
Put the mushrooms in one bowl with the chopped ham and the red onion in another bowl with the roughly crumbled feta cheese. Spread a few ounces of breadcrumbs out on a dinner plate.
Step 6:
Divide the dough into quarters and mark each quarter into 3 to make 12 pieces of dough. (You may want to make the pieces a bit bigger, in which case you should still comfortably get 10 croquettes.)
Step 7:
Wet your hands with cold water and form each piece of dough into a patty with the palms of your hands. Don’t be tempted to use flour for this bit – and don’t worry about the dough being soft either, it’s very easy to squish into shape around the filling.
Step 8:
Holding the patty on the palm of one hand, put a couple of teaspoons of filling in the middle and fold the dough around
Step 9:
Lightly roll each croquette in the breadcrumbs and shallow fry in about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of oil before finishing them off in the oven for another 10 minutes on Gas mark 5–6 (190–200°C), or for a minute or two in the microwave.
Step 10:
Serve warm with salad, or cold meat and salad.
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