2023 Giro d’Italia - Stage 6: Naples
Welcome to the home of this year’s Serie A champions: Napoli! Typically, when you see one town name in the stage entry, it means it’s a time trial. But, the riders traveled 162 km today, starting and finishing in Napoli (where we ate 8 pizzas in a day on our honeymoon) but also traveling up along the Amalfi coast, and through Positano (another stop on our honeymoon) which was a lovely sight indeed. While Naples is known for their pizza and negronis (which I covered in last year’s race stage in Napoli), they’re also known for another small handheld snack: Crocchè - Italian for croquettes. These are absolutely lovely: crunchy on the outside and pillow-soft on the inside.
Crocchè di Patate
Potato Croquettes, adapted from The Italian Regional Cookbook, Valentina Harris
The use of parsley in this recipe can lead to a lightly bitter flavor for young palates. So, I’ve adjusted the recipe to swap in chives.
2.25 lbs golden potatoes
3 tbsp butter, melted
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tbsp minced fresh chive
2 eggs, separated
Flour for coating
1 cup seasoned fine breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes in salted water.
Drain and peel the potatoes, then process them through a ricer into a large bowl and cover with the melted butter. Mix in the cheese, chives, and season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, just mash it all together in a bowl.
Heat your oil to 350 degrees.
Stir the egg yolks, one at a time until fully mixed in, into the potato mixture. Using your hands, grab a little of the potato mixture and form the croquettes into ~1”x ½” nuggets.
Then, prepare the breading station: place some flour in a bowl, whisk the egg whites in another bowl until foaming, then pour in some breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl or small casserole dish.
Roll some formed potato croquettes in the flour. Pick one up and roll it loosely in your hand, allowing the excess flour to fall off. Dip it into the egg white, allowing the excess to drip off then roll in breadcrumbs. Place on a clean work surface and repeat with the remaining croquettes.
If using a home deep fryer, drop in the prepared croquettes, 6 at-a-time, and fry until golden and crisped.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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