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Rice and Tomato Croquettes
1/2 cup rice 3/4 cup stock 1/2 can tomatoes 1 slice onion 1 slice carrot 1 sprig parsley 1 sprig thyme 2 cloves 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns 1 teaspoon sugar 1 egg 1/4 cup grated cheese 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 teaspoon salt Few grains cayenne Wash rice, and steam in stock until rice has absorbed stock; then add tomatoes which have been cooked twenty minutes with onion, carrot, parsley, thyme, cloves, pepper-corns, and sugar, and then rubbed through a strainer. Remove from fire, add egg slightly beaten, cheese, butter, salt, and cayenne. Spread on a plate to cool. Shape in form of cylinders, dip in crumbs, egg, and crumbs again, fry in deep fat, and drain.
A rice croquette bound with egg and cheese, flavoured with a quickly made tomato sauce. The hinge is the cooling: the mixture must be cold and firm before shaping, or the cylinders slump and burst in the fat.
- Half a can of tomatoesCan sizes varied in this period and were often larger than a pint, so the intended quantity is uncertain; about a cup of tomatoes with their juice is a reasonable reading. Chopped or whole both work, since the sauce is strained.
- Steaming the riceThe rice is cooked in the stock, tightly covered over gentle heat, until the liquid is fully absorbed; a heavy saucepan on low heat will do. The rice should be soft and slightly sticky, not al dente, or the croquettes will not hold.
- The aromaticsOnion, carrot, parsley, thyme, cloves and peppercorns are simmered in the tomato for twenty minutes and then discarded when the sauce is strained. Whole spices are essential here — ground clove and pepper cannot be strained out and will dominate.
- Grated cheeseThe recipe does not name a cheese. A hard dry cheese such as Parmesan or an aged Cheddar suits the purpose better than a young cheese, which releases water and loosens the mixture.
- Cooling before shapingSpread no more than an inch deep and refrigerate at least two hours, or overnight. Room-temperature cooling as originally written is slower and less reliable, and the mixture needs to be genuinely cold and stiff.
- Crumb, egg, crumbThe recipe means dry crumbs first to give the wet mixture a coating the egg can grip, then beaten egg, then crumbs again. You will need an extra egg and about a cup of fine dry crumbs beyond the ingredient list.
- Deep fatFry at 375F for two to three minutes, until deep brown. Cooler fat soaks in and the croquettes fall apart; hotter and the crumbs colour before the interior heats through. Fry three or four at a time so the temperature holds.
- YieldThe quantities are small: roughly two cups of mixture, which will shape into something under a dozen short cylinders, enough for a light course for a few people.