Potato Balls
Pare and boil dry some potatoes. Then put them into a hot pan and mash with a lump of butter, salt and pepper. Beat this well, and make into small flat cakes. Dip them into egg and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Fry a nice brown.
These are simple potato croquettes — mashed potato, crumbed and fried until crisp outside and fluffy within.
- “Boil dry” = drain wellCook the potatoes fully, drain, then return them to the hot pan for a minute to steam off moisture — dry potato makes cakes that hold together.
- A “lump” of butterThat’s about 1 tablespoon; mash and beat it in while the potato is hot so it goes smooth.
- Egg-and-crumb the cakesDip each flat cake in beaten egg, then bread crumbs — the coating is what fries to a “nice brown” shell.
- Fry hot, not smokingMedium-high in butter or a neutral oil; give them room so they brown rather than steam, and turn once.
- Season boldlyPotato is bland — be generous with salt and pepper, and a little grated onion or parsley is a period-appropriate touch.
The croquette — anything savory bound, breaded and fried into a small shape — is a French technique whose name comes from croquer, “to crunch.” Potato versions became popular in the 19th century as a thrifty, elegant way to turn leftover mash into something worth serving to company. In the Creole kitchen, where French method met local ingredients, croquettes of potato, rice, or fish were a standard trick for stretching a table without ever looking as though you were economizing.
From page 28 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
