Almond-Spinach Croquettes

Posted on 28 July 2009 by | 4 Comments

In which health-giving spinach is mixed with white flour, butter, salt, anchovy sauce and then fried. (From Beverly Pepper’s Potluck Cookery, Faber and Faber, 1955).

Almond-Spinach Croquettes

LEFTOVER: COOKED SPINACH
Chopped and drained, at least 1 ½ cups

AND

Butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons
Flour, 4 tablespoons
Milk, 1 cup
Salt ½ teaspoon
Pepper to taste
Minced toasted almonds, 2 tablespoons
Worcester sauce, 1 tablespoon
Flour
Beaten egg, 1 with 1 tablespoon water
Bread crumbs
Fat

Melt butter, stir in flour. Add milk gradually, stirring until thick and smooth. Do not boil. Add salt, pepper, spinach, almonds, and Worcester sauce. Cool until easy to handle. Shape into patties or cones. Dip in flour, then in egg mixture, and finally breadcrumbs. Fry in 375 degree fat (A cube of bread with turn brown in 60 seconds) until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper before serving.

Note.

  • I was having a bad sauce day when I made this and ended up having to sieve it, twice.
  • I actually made the exact quantities in the recipe for a change, although I froze 2/3 of the spinach/almond/white sauce mixture.*
  • That isn’t a typo re the Worcester sauce, I added a whole tablespoon
  • Shape into cones. Cones? CONES?!
  • Even after being left to cool in the fridge, the mixture didn’t firm up enough to make it possible to shape it. I added another tablespoon of flour to the batter I didn’t freeze and it was still too liquid. So I basically woman-handled dollops of it into the flour, then the egg then the breadcrumbs. Messy.
  • I fried them in corn oil, my frying oil of choice.

Conclusion

This was an utter fail. I knew as I was making it that it would be better with some cheese (parmesan?) in the batter but the actual flavour of the croquettes was deeply unappealing – salty, sickly, slightly ‘off’ from too much Worcester Sauce. The texture was a strange mixture of creamy and ‘bitty’ from the nuts. Basically they were only edible when I had chopped them up, mixed in some grated cheddar and refried them like a hash. Yes, twice-fried spinach. Do not attempt.

*Which I forgot to label. I look forward to mistaking it for something else and being very disappointed when I come home from work and find I have not defrosted that which I intended to defrost.

 

Croquette’d by Elly

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4 responses to “Almond-Spinach Croquettes”

  1. Alix | 29 July 2009 at 2.03pm |

    This does sound kind of blerg. There’s very few scenarios I can imagine where Worcestershire sauce and almonds play together nicely.

  2. Elly | 29 July 2009 at 6.19pm |

    A couple of shakes would have been fine. Measuring out a whole spoonful felt dirty.

  3. CarsmileSteve | 30 July 2009 at 10.41am |

    getting the thickness of bechemel right for croquettes is a right pain. my spanish cookbook says you should spread it out in a fish kettle as this helps it set better.

    i do not have a fish kettle.

    i ended up using the (very yummy) ham and cheese mixture like posh toast toppers on slices of baguette.

  4. Salada | 1 August 2009 at 10.55am |

    White sauce lump avoidance:-
    Not fully guaranteed, but it helps to stir the roux (fat+flour) over gentle heat for a minute or so to start cooking the flour before adding any liquid.
    Bechamel for croquettes – 25g each butter & flour; 150-200ml liquid, i.e. thick.