Prawn Croquettes (Kroket)

Submitted by UmmBinat

"ZWT7 Switzerland. Besides the common ragout type filling, other popular fillings are whole boiled eggs, noodles, shrimps and rice. A smaller version of the kroket, the bitterbal, is often served with mustard as a snack in bars and at receptions. The possibilities are almost endless - here we have used shrimp. From http://www.spain-recipes.com."

 

• Ready In: 13hrs
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 36 Units
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 ounces butter
• 4 ounces plain flour
• 1 1⁄4 pints cold milk
• salt and pepper
• 14 ounces cooked peeled shrimp, diced
• 2 teaspoons tomato puree
• 5 -6 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• olive oil, for deep-frying

directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the flour, stirring continuously. Allow the flour to cook in the butter for a couple of minutes, continuing to stir.
2. Start adding the cold milk little by little, stirring all the while until you have a thick, smooth sauce.
3. Add the shrimp, season well and stir in the tomato paste. Continue to cook for 7 or 8 minutes. The end result should be quite thick.
4. Let the mixture cool completely - it is usually a good idea to leave it overnight.
5. Take a scant tablespoon of the mixture and form into a croqueta, a 1 1/2 - 2 inch cylinder. Roll the croqueta in the breadcrumbs, then coat in the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs again. Make sure the breadcrumbs are always dry to ensure an even coating.
6. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a large, heavy-based pan until the temperature reaches 350ºF or a cube of bread turns golden brown in 20-30 seconds.
7. Fry in batches of no more than 3 or 4 for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove with a slatted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.

Reviews

[mianbao]

These are very good, and a real nuisance to make. But then, all croquettes are, and if you don't want to take the trouble, you should make something else. So, the missing star is not because of the difficulty making these. I actually made these croquettes twice, in order to find out if the problem I ran into (insides leaking) was caused by me, or the recipe. The second time, I added 1 tablespoon flour to the amount called for, mixing it into the shrimp, which I cooked at home. The mixture was much firmer and easier to handle the second time. I think I was lazy letting it cool the first time, and water condensed in the fridge, making it too loose. Although it was much better the second time, there was still a small amount of leakage. I think this could be easily solved by adding an egg yolk to the shrimp/white sauce mixture, and then cooling, breading and frying it. A number of croquette recipes I have looked at since, do use an egg yolk or a whole egg in the filling. I made my croquettes larger than the recipe poster, so got fewer. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I will be making it again, with the addition mentioned. I cooked the shrimp in olive oil and butter with 1 clove of garlic and about 2 tablespoons parsley, then shredded it. I think this worked fairly well.