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Chestnut Croquettes
2 cups hot mashed chestnuts 4 tablespoons butter or other fat Salt and pepper 2 eggs Few drops onion-juice or 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion Egg and crums Mix the chestnuts, butter, slightly beaten eggs and seasonings. Shape into croquettes. Roll in crums, beaten egg and crums. Fry in deep hot fat until crums are brown. This offers an adequate protein, iron and a comparatively highly seasoned dish. The croquettes may be served with brown sauce or tomato sauce.
A straightforward croquette that depends almost entirely on how dry the chestnut purée is and how cold it is when it hits the fat. Everything else is assembly.
- Chill before fryingThe mixture is soft when warm and croquettes made from it will slump or burst in the fat. Shape them, then refrigerate at least an hour so they are firm and cold at the centre before breading and frying.
- "Crums"Dry fine breadcrumbs, not the coarse fresh sort. The recipe breads twice — crumb, egg, crumb — which is deliberate and worth following, as the double coat is what keeps a soft interior contained.
- How many chestnutsTwo cups of mashed chestnuts takes somewhere in the region of 1½ lb of chestnuts in the shell, allowing for shell and skin loss. Vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts work and save an hour of picking at skins.
- PeelingScore each nut, roast or boil about 15 minutes, and peel while still hot. The inner pellicle is bitter and clings hard once the nut cools; work with a few at a time and keep the rest in the hot water.
- Fat temperatureThe recipe says only 'deep hot fat'. Around 375F is the usual working range: below that the double crumb coat drinks oil; much above it and the outside colours before the middle is hot. Two to three minutes gives an even brown.
- Onion juiceAn old shortcut for onion flavour without texture — grate an onion and press the pulp through a sieve. The alternative of chopped onion should be softened in a little butter first, or it stays raw and crunchy inside.
- The protein claimThe note about "adequate protein" reflects interwar nutrition writing rather than current understanding. Chestnuts are starchy and comparatively low in protein; the eggs supply most of what is here. Treat this as a starch course alongside something else rather than the centre of a meal.
- YieldAbout eight to ten croquettes, serving four as a main with sauce and a green vegetable.