The holidays  always brought delicious recipes to our family meals.  This is such a recipe and is wonderful as an appetizer or a side dish.  These are called Crocchetti di Patate.   In Italian cooking, there are many times when foods are dusted in flour or dredged in egg and breadcrumb to create a coating.  This recipe is an example of both methods being used.  The flour dusting seals the food, followed by a dip in egg and breadcrumbs, which provide a thick coating for the croquette once cooked.  One of the many Italian recipes which require breadcrumbs, I use rice crackers placed in a Cuisinart and processed until very fine breadcrumb.  They are delicious warm or at room temperature.  They can be stored a couple of days in refrigerator, just warm up for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree heated oven.

Yields approximately 2 dozen

2   pounds Potatoes (Russet)

4   tablespoons Butter

1 ½ cups  grated Hard Italian Cheese (like Parmigianna Reggiano)

1  finely mashed Garlic clove

3  tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Salt & Pepper

2  Whole Egg

1  Egg Yolk

Olive Oil for frying

¾  cup  unflavored gluten free Breadcrumbs

3-4  tablespoons gluten free Ceci (garbanzo bean/chickpea) flour or White Rice Flour for dusting

Peel and quarter 2 pounds of russet potatoes.

Bring to a boil in salted water.  Reduce to a rolling simmer on medium high heat.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Drain immediately, allow to stand in colander for about 5 minutes to drain excess cooking liquid.

Once drained, mash the potatoes.  Use whichever tool is comfortable to accomplish this, I use a stand mixer.  Fold in butter, then garlic, then parsley, then cheese and salt and pepper to taste.  Place mixture aside and cool completely.

Fold in one whole egg and one egg yolk to cooled mixture.  Place remaining egg white and whole egg in shallow bowl, whisk and place aside.

Place breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl, place aside.  Put 3-4 tablespoons of ceci flour in a shallow bowl, place aside.

I line the bowls up in the following order:  potato mixture, ceci flour bowl for dusting, egg bowl and breadcrumb bowl.

From the potato mixture, pluck a clump about 1 ½ – 2 inches in girth.  Using a swift rolling action:  roll into barrel shape.  Quickly use your fingers to push/roll the mixture in flour to add a dusting layer to the barrel.  Again, using quick motions, dunk in egg – rolling the barrel swiftly toward you; then quickly plunge in breadcrumb bowl – all the while swiftly rolling the barrel toward you.  If you are not swift, the egg mixture will be the most challenging.  If the potato mixture is too wet, fold in breadcrumb or ceci flour – about one tablespoon at a time until mixture is thick enough to handle.

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Warm a fry pan with a thin layer of olive oil to hot (do not allow oil to smoke.)  Fry croquettes, turning often in pan, until golden brown.  This takes about 4 or 5 minutes.

Remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain off excess olive oil.

“Potato Croquettes” by Liz Conforti, Forget What You Know About Wheat(c) 2014

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