Potato, leek & cheddar croquettes

I am crazy over mashed potato, or anything potato for that matter. I think it's the Finn in me, we love our starch. It's funny how even the smell of potatoes on the boil takes me back to my childhood. I recall watching my Mum as she peeled boiled potatoes using a knife with the potato stuck on a fork.  I have no idea why I specifically remember that, it's just a vivid childhood memory. Potatoes were a regular with our meals as kids and they're still one of my favourites. 

I stumbled across a croquette recipe in Masterchef Magazine and decided to create my own little recipe. Tried and tested. You’re welcome.

I am hooked on panko bread crumbs at the moment, you can obviously substitute with plain bread crumbs if you don’t have panko. I find panko so much crispier than ordinary bread crumbs. You can make your own fresh crumbs by removing the crusts off day-old bread and processing in a food processor. Also, if you are not a fan of coriander, flat leaf parsley would go well as a substitute. I pretty much add coriander to everything!

Ingredients (makes approx 15 croquettes):

4 medium sized potatoes

2 tbs butter

2 tbs milk (if you want to be super naughty you can use cream)

2 egg yolks, beaten

½ leek, cut lengthways and sliced finely

1 cup vintage cheddar, grated 

¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped
½ cup plain flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Sea salt & pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Add ½ tsp salt to a pot of water and boil potatoes in their skins until soft (15-20 mins). Once soft, peel then mash, adding butter, milk and beaten egg yolks to create a creamy texture. I learnt a little trick from my Mum to get super creamy mashed potato, and that is to use a hand mixer to whip into a smooth blend. I use a stick blender, works perfectly.

Add leek, cheese and coriander to potato mixture, season with lashings of freshly ground sea salt and pepper and combine well. Stir in flour, then refigerate mixture for 30 minutes. Once cool, gently roll 2 tbs of filling into an oval shape and coat with breadcrumbs. Repeat with remainder of the mixture. Tip: do this with wet hands as stops the mixture from sticking to your hands.

Fill a small saucepan 5cm deep with oil and heat over medium heat. Without overcrowding the pan, fry the croquettes for 3 minutes each or until golden brown, turning halfway. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Serve. Unless like me you eat them all yourself first!

Joining in Veggie Mama's Meatless Monday linky today. Do yourself a favour and head over to check out some awesome dishes! 

Upside down mushroom tart

I am so very fortunate, I get to manage the social media for a small business that I adore. The Lettuce Shop are purveyors of fresh fruit and veg, delivering quality local and Australian produce to appreciative foodies of Perth. As part of my very fortunate role I get to take photos of food. Photos. Food. Match made in foodie heaven.

On the weekend I decided to try an upside down mushroom tart as featured here, with the intention of sharing it in this week’s newsletter for The Lettuce Shop’s customers. It was so good I just HAD to share it here. You’re welcome.

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 leek, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

8 large button mushrooms, stalks cut

6 sprigs thyme

100g soft goats cheese

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

Wild rocket to serve

Preheat oven at 200C. Heat oil in a medium sized ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Fry leek and garlic for 3 minutes until soft. Add thyme and mushrooms stalk side down, cook for a further 5 minutes.

Cut both pastry sheets into a circle shape big enough to cover the contents of the frying pan. Stick both sheets together, spread half of the goats cheese over one side of the pastry.

Remove frying pan from heat, place pastry sheets, cheese side down, over the top of the mushroom/leek mix in the pan, tuck edges under to resemble a pie. Transfer the pan into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden in colour and puffy. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

Place a board or pizza peel over the top of the pan and invert, turning the tart upside down on the board. Crumble the remaining goats cheese over the top and garnish with rocket. Season with pepper and serve.

Gorgeous served with salad.