Potato Croquette Recipe (Kroket Kentang)

There are many different styles of Croquette in every country. In Indonesia, Croquette was first introduced during Dutch Colonial rule and it becomes a very popular snack. Mom and her helper used to make croquettes for somebody orders or family to snack on in the afternoon (the tea time).

Being living in a country that is very easy to find mashed potatoes packages, I was so tempted to make potato croquette with this shortcut.  Plus I had a leftover rotisserie chicken.

The Indonesians like to enjoy croquettes with bird eye chilies or acar mustard (mustard pickle).  In this recipe, I did another fast way to make acar mustard with sweet green relish instead of using diced cucumbers.

For stir frying the croquette filling, I used Three Farmers camelina oil that I received about a month ago. Lately, I have been infused my extra virgin olive oil with rosemary and I did the same to my camelina oil after I tested the original taste of it. Camelina oil has fresh nutty aroma that is perfect for salad. This time I’m going to use it for my stir frying.

I bet you wonder what camelina oil is. This oil is from Camelina sativa, an ancient grain that originated from Northern Europe and parts of Central Asia. Like canola (Canadian regular oil), camelina is from mustard family. What is the biggest different between canola and camelina oil? Camelina oil is a non-GMO oil.

Camelina oil is processed by cold press technique to reserve natural source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E as well as to ensure the brilliant colour and naturally nutty aroma of this oil remains intact throughout processing. If you are interested to try this oil you can buy it online or at your local health stores

Potato Croquette
Kroket Kentang
Yield: 17-18 croquettes

Ingredients:
Potato Dough:
1 package of mashed potatoes (contains 2 pouches, about 215 grams – I used the roasted garlic mashed potatoes)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
nutmeg (grate to yield 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups hot water

Croquette Filling:
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons camelina oil
1 small onion
100 grams (3.5 oz.) leftover rotisserie chicken, minced
50 grams (1.8 oz.) frozen mix vegetables (peas and diced carrots), thawed
3 1/3 tablespoons (50 milliliter or 10 teaspoons) evaporated milk
nutmeg (grate to yield 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or seasalt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Egg Wash:
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoon evaporated milk

100 grams (3.5 oz.) breadcrumbs (tepung panir) or panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
cooking oil for deep frying

Acar Mustard Dipping:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon camelina oil
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon yellow mustard (American mustard)
3/4 cup (180 milliliter) water
1/4 cup sweet relish
1 bird eye chilies, chopped
1 tablespoon nypa sap vinegar (cuka aren)
honey to taste
salt to taste

Methods:
Potato Dough:
1. Heat hot water, unsalted butter and freshly ground nutmeg to rapid boil in 2-Liter (2-quart) saucepan.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in evaporated milk and 2 pouches of roasted garlic mashed potatoes until well blended. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed; whip vigorously with fork until smooth. Cool off the mashed potatoes.

Croquette Filling:
In a skillet or pan, heat butter and camelina oil. Add diced chopped onion, stir fry until soft and translucent. Add mix vegetables, minced rotisserie chicken, evaporated milk, freshly grated nutmeg, and salt. Saute, add in all-purpose flour and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. Let it cool down before using it for filling.

Croquette:
1. This direction is for the right-handed person. Take 2 tablespoons of potato dough. With your right hand, press the potato dough on to your left-hand palm so it flats enough to fill the filling. Add 1 tablespoon of filling into. Close the dough back by molding it around the filling to form a cylinder shape. Redo this step until all dough is used up.

2. Combine the egg wash ingredients. Dip 1 croquette into the egg wash and transfer onto a bowl of breadcrumbs or panko. Do this step for all croquettes.

3. Deep-fry in small batches 3-4 croquettes at a time for best result.

Acar Mustard Dipping:
1. Make rough by heating butter and camelina oil in a small saucepan at medium-high heat. Add flour, stir and mix for about 10 minutes.
2. Add mustard, sweet relish, chopped bird eye chilies, salt and water. Cook until the flour is not sticky
3. Add nypa sap vinegar and whisk. Taste. If you need sweeter taste you can add honey.

Enjoy your croquette with acar mustard dipping and a cup of tea.

Cook’s Note:
* I have reduced the amount of water by 1 cup that is supposed to be used in mashed potatoes making. The package direction notes to add 1 1/2 cup hot water for each pouch. However, I don’t want to make the mashed potatoes too watery so it will be hard to shape so I reduced the amount into 2 cups of hot water.
* You can also use other protein resources for filling such as beef, shrimp, tofu etc.