Can you save these croquettes?

Since I now cook for myself, I have been diligently looking for sources of great recipes I could try at home. Thankfully a couple of weeks ago, I came across this fabulous and very healthy food blog the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I have been a regular visitor ever since.

Although I'm not vegan I love reading and trying out Susan's recipes that always look deliciiiiiiious!

When I read about her contest to "save" the Thai Pumpkin Croquettes I instantly wanted to give it a try. (that was when I realized that I haven't had croquettes in a really long time). Because of schoolwork I did not plan on going grocery shopping this week, so instead I started rummaging through the fridge and the cabinets in an attempt of finding ingredients which, I think, could be incorporated into the original recipe. However, that turned out to be quite a challenge since I realized that I don't even have half of the things listed on the recipe. But this little discouragement was NOT going to stop me from making my own version of croquettes (which I have never made) Luckily I managed to buy some organic potatoes at the UBC fall farm market on campus.

So here they are: SOS! Croquettes

Makes about 13

1 medium size organic Russet Potato

1 small (I used a really tiny one) purple potato

1/4 cup purple yam (optional; it adds to the sweetness)

1/3 cup cooked pre-cooked green beans ( because that was all I had left)

1/2 medium size white onion, chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup carrots, shredded/grated

1/2 red delicious (or any kind other than Granny Smith) apple, grated

1 teaspoon grated lime zest, and a little bit of lime juice

a pinch of cilantro and basil

1/4 package of 300g low fat silken tofu

black pepper, white pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/4 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4cup nonfat soy milk

11/4 tablespoon soy sauce

a little bit of light E.V.O.O.( or regular olive oil)

*Optional

Breadcrumbs ( I just made my own by toasting 1-2 slices of wholewheat toast and crumble them)

1. Peel the potatoes, and put them into a bowl of cold water for a few minutes. Cut into chunks and steam them until soft (when I poked them with chopsticks they broke apart) Or you can prepare them as you would with mashed potatoes.

2. Heat a skillet. Add a few small drops of E.V.O.O. and add the minced garlic. Saute until golden brown, then add the onions and cooked green beans. Add a bit of black pepper and white pepper as well as the soy sauce; cook until onions become soft and tender. Remove from heat

3. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large mixing bowl, mash both potatoes. Add the silken tofu and mash well. Add the onions and green beans from step 2, and combine well.

4. Add the grated carrots and apple. Mix well, and finally add the cornstarch and soy milk. Mix well.

5. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil. Using your hands, form the mixture into little two-inch discs. ( I made about 13 discs)

6. Bake for 20 minutes, and then turn over and bake until browned, about 15minutes.

*Before forming them into croquettes, you can coat the individual mixture with breadcrumbs if you like. I tried both, and I preferred the ones without breadcrumbs while my friend liked the ones with ( since she said it was a bit more crunchy and imitated the fried croquettes that she loves)

Unfortunately I have no red curry paste, but I do have brown curry. I made the Thai dipping sauce using Susan's recipe, but since I have a block of brown curry and some leftover onion chunks I decided to make another sauce with it.

Brown Curry Dipping Sauce

2 teaspoon E.V.O.O.
onion ( some leftover from the croquettes)
1 small block of brown curry+ 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth

some red hot pepper flakes
a bit of rice vinegar
pepper to taste

1. heat E.V.O.O in a small saucepan. Saute the onion until soft. Add the hot pepper flakes

2. Add brown curry and water

3. cover the pan and bring it to a boil.

4. add a drop of rice vinegar and some black pepper to taste

Voila! It is ready! I served them with some sliced cabbage on the side, and really liked them. The addition of apples was a delightful and pleasant surprise; not only did they add texture to the croquettes, but they also brought out the spiciness and accentuated sweetness of the onions and gave the croquettes a nice aroma different from those I've had in the past. I wanted to use eggplants somewhere and maybe took out one of the other ingredients, but unfortunately ran out about 2 days ago :(

Thank you Susan for such a great blog! I had fun making the croquettes, and I think I'll try out others' recipes as well!

afterthought: Maybe I'll use pumpkin (since I LOVE them so much) next time and modify OTHER ingredients in the recipe