Potato Croquettes

Potato Croquettes

You have to be pretty gung ho about leftovers to turn leftover mashed potatoes into croquettes. Let's face it, most of us would simply mound the mashed potatoes into a bowl, smother them with some gravy, and nuke the heap in the microwave. I, myself have done just that on numerous occasions. It's delightfully simple, yet disappointingly predictable. So not wanting to ever be predictable, I began testing numerous recipes to use up the last of those mashed potatoes. Of all those recipes, this one was my favorite. It's basically like turning that mash into a batch of French fries. Sure, it takes a few more minutes to make than the typical microwaved mash, but these delightful croquettes are worth it.

serves 4

2 pounds leftover mashed potatoes

¾ -1 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk, plus 2 large eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup milk

1 cup breadcrumbs, for breading

4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade attachment, pulse the mashed potatoes to break up any clumps. Continuing to pulse the machine, add ¼ cup of the flour, the egg yolk, and the butter. Add an additional ¼ cup of the flour if necessary to create a stiff, but pipe-able mixture. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Transfer the potato mixture to a piping bag, fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the mixture out into long cylinders on a lightly floured work surface. Then, use a lightly floured bench scraper or knife to cut the cylinders into smaller, 3-inch long croquettes.

To bread the croquettes, first fill a small bowl with the remaining ½ cup of flour. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the 2 whole eggs with the milk. Fill a third bowl with the breadcrumbs. Working on one croquette at a time, dredge the croquette first in the flour. Then, dip the croquette in the egg and milk mixture, before breading it in the breadcrumbs and setting aside. Repeat this step until all the croquettes are breaded.

In a large sauce pot, heat the oil over high heat to a temperature of 375°F and line a baking sheet with paper towel and set aside. Carefully drop a few of the croquettes into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. To make sure the croquettes brown evenly, flip them over in the oil, halfway through frying. Remove the fried croquettes from the hot oil and transfer to the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Continue to fry the remaining croquettes in this manner, keeping the oil at a constant temperature of 375°F. Sprinkle the finished croquettes with additional salt and serve.