Fresh hot potato croquettes are an easily achieved homemade culinary pleasure.  There are two keys to turning out good ones every time.  The first, a well-proportioned balance of flour, egg and potato….too little flour and the croquettes may fall apart as they fry…too much and they become heavy and pasty.  The second necessity is oil heated sufficiently for deep frying them…too little heat and the croquettes burst apart before they are done.

The recipe given below ended the diplomatickitchen’s search for one that would turn out excellent croquettes on a regular basis.  It comes from the website bavariankitchen.com–a useful source for traditional Bavarian and other German recipes.  The companion piece, to serve with the croquettes, is  Orange Remoulade, an accompaniment a little out of the ordinary, and, at once, exceedingly good and easy to make.

Potato Croquettes with Orange Remoulade (for 14 croquettes….for the best results when doubling the amount, make two single recipes of the potatoes, rather than one doubled amount of them.)

Note: To print this recipe, or any other diplomatickitchen recipe, go to the bottom of the page, at the end of the post, and click on the icon: Print & PDF. You will have the option of printing in smaller text size and without photos.

Timing Note:  After running the potatoes through a food mill, they are cooled to room temperature….30 minutes is a good estimate for the cooling time.  Allow at least 30 minutes for chilling the Orange Remoulade after it is blended together.

Ingredients:

• about 1 and 1/2 pounds of Russet Potatoes, or any variety that is mealy in texture and good for mashing.  (How to identify a Russet:  Russets are long, tend to be rather large and have a thick-ish coarse brown skin.)
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tablespoons of softened Butter
• 4 Tablespoons of White Flour
• 1 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg
• dry Bread Crumbs
• Vegetable Oil for deep frying

Equipment:

• a Pot big enough to boil the potatoes
• a Dishtowel
• a Paring Knife
• a Food Mill fitted with the large-holed Plate (if your mill comes with several plates with different sized holes)
• a large Bowl
• a small-ish Bowl
• a hand-held Electric Mixer or a Whisk
• a large deep Pot for deep frying the croquettes
• a Deep Fry or Candy Thermometer for guaging the oil’s temperature is useful
• a Slotted Spoon and a Baking Sheet lined with Brown Paper Bags or Paper Towels

1.  Fill a pot with salted water.  Add the whole, unpeeled potatoes and bring them to a boil over medium heat.  Cook them until they are tender.  Drain them and peel them while they are still hot.  (Cradling a hot potato in a dishtowel in one hand as you peel it with the other will get the job done without burning your hands.)

2.  Run the potatoes through the food mill fitted with the large-holed plate (if your mill comes with multiple plates) into a large bowl.  Set them aside to cool to room temperature…for, perhaps, 30 minutes.

3.  Separate the egg,  placing the white in a small bowl and adding the egg yolk to the cooled potatoes.  Mix the yolk into the potatoes well, along with the butter, flour, salt and nutmeg.

4.  Beat or whisk the egg white until it is frothy.  Spread out dried bread crumbs on a plate.  Place the bowl of egg white and the plate of crumbs out on your work area.

5.  Knead the potato mixture briefly with your hands.  Form the mixture into golf ball sized balls and shape the balls into cylinders like the ones shown in the Ingredient photo above.

6.  Bread the croquettes:  Dip each in the egg white and then roll it in the bread crumbs.  Place them as they are breaded on a plate or baking sheet.

7.  Pour enough vegetable oil into the pot so that the croquettes will float freely as they fry.  Heat the oil to 350 F.  Carefully lower 4 croquettes into the oil with a slotted spoon, one at a time, and fry them, turning them occasionally with the slotted spoon, until they are golden brown….This will take only a few minutes.

8.  With the slotted spoon, remove the croquettes to the brown paper or paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.

9.  Bring the oil back to 350 F before adding the next 4 croquettes for frying.  Continue frying the rest of the croquettes in the same manner.

10.  Serve the hot croquettes at once.  The Orange Remoulade Sauce described below in a good addition to them.

Orange Remoulade Sauce (for about 1 cup)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup of Green Onions, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup of coarse-grained Dijon Mustard
• 1/8 cup of White Wine Vinegar
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Sweet Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh Orange Juice
• 3 – 4 drops of Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce…more or less–to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground Salt

Equipment:

• a Food Processor fitted with the Blade Attachment or a Blender
• a Bowl

1.  Place all the ingredients in the processor or blender and mix until the ingredients form a smooth sauce.

2.  Transfer the sauce to a bowl and refrigerate it, covered, for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Any leftover sauce will keep well for many days refrigerated.

A Note:  Potato Croquettes with Orange Remoulade accompany the Main Course of the Lunch Menu:  A Lunch with Spice and Many Things Nice. 

Two Acknowledgements:  The recipe for the croquettes is adapted from one on the bavariankitchen website.  The sauce recipe is an adaptation from one found, curiously enough, in an excellent cookbook about ‘Cowboy’ Cooking:  Cooking the Cowboy Way by Grady Spears and June Naylor (2009).

An Invitation: You are invited to request suggestions from the diplomatickitchen for your own menus for any occasion by clicking on the feature ‘Ask and Tell’ here or in the Menu at the top of the page. Do you have a menu concept with a gap or two that wants filling…or perhaps you are an expat looking for ways to adapt your recipes to what is available in your temporary home…maybe you are just looking for a new way to use a familiar ingredient or would like suggestions on how to adjust quantities of a recipe from the diplomatickitchen for smaller or larger groups…Replies will be published in ‘Ask and Tell’ or sent by email if you prefer.

© Elizabeth Laeuchli, the diplomatickitchen, 2011-2013