Croquettes with sweet potatoes and cassava

Have you ever heard of croquettes? They are small balls that are soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. You can make them using any type of starch like potatoes, yams, cassava, sweet potatoes, etc. What I particularly like about them is that they have an element of surprise when you take that first bite to determine whether you want to keep eating or not, because nothing from the outside suggests what is in it.

Since I always crave for starch but not the rice variant, I decided to use sweet potatoes and cassava. This combination gives them a very creamy and sweet texture inside.

The recipe’s notes on the preparation of the two starches are basically similar. The only difference is that you need to boil cassava longer because of its stringy texture while sweet potatoes are more workable. I used butter as a binder and also to give them a nice flavor that I enjoy.

What are croquettes?

Croquettes are originally from France. They were made with leftover meat, fish and vegetables mixed with a binder like eggs or cheese, then rolled in flour and breadcrumbs. They are usually deep fried to make them crunchy. Hence, the word croquette which comes from the word “croquer” meaning to crunch. Croquettes are usually served cold.

There are many variations to the dish that can be used as snack, side dish or appetizers. However, the main ingredients are always starch and protein. You can use any type of starches like yams, potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes. The common protein ingredients are cheese, ground meat and/or fish. Then you can fry or bake to make them crunchy on the outside.

How to make croquettes with sweet potatoes and cassava?

I have used a few spices that give a punch to the croquettes. Nutmeg is one of them. A pinch of nutmeg brings that sweet, woody flavor that pairs beautifully with sweet potatoes and cassava. I mixed paprika with the flour to give the croquettes this dark red color. I make croquettes with any proteins in them since I typically use them as a side dish to a meat or a fish.

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 cassava root peeled (medium size)
• 1 sweet potato peeled (medium size)
• ¼ stick of butter (soft)
• ½ cup of chive chopped
• ½ tsp of paprika
• ¼ tsp of nutmeg
• A dash of black pepper
• 1 tsp of salt
• An egg
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• ¾  cup of flour
• Vegetable oil to fry

Instructions

Cut the cassava and sweet potatoes in big chunks.

Put them in a sauce pan and cover them with water.

Boil them until they are soft but still firm

Drain the water and mash them with a fork or potato masher

Add to the warm mashed potatoes the butter, chives, nutmeg, salt, pepper while mashing.

Mix the paprika with the flour.

Make small balls with them and put them on a plate.

Put the flour, beaten egg, breadcrumbs with a dash of paprika in individual bowls.

Deep your balls in each of the bowl in this order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs.

They must be deep fried. Heat your oil. Make sure the oil is hot before putting them in order to avoid them soaking too much oil.

Your croquettes are ready when they turn gold brown. This shouldn’t take more than 2 min.

Place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve warm.

Other recipes that you might enjoy:

Sorrel (Ngayi ngayi) salad recipe

Poulet Mayo recipe (chicken with mayonnaise) from Congo

Poached fish with okra recipe

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