Kartoffelkroketter

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Potato ricer (ideal) or hand masher
• •Heavy deep pot for frying, 4-litre
• •Probe thermometer
• •Slotted spoon or spider
• •Three shallow bowls for the breading station
• •Two trays lined with parchment

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil and dry the potatoes

   Place the peeled potato chunks in a large pot, cover with cold water, and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until completely tender, about twenty minutes. A knife should slide through without any resistance at all. Drain them well, then return the empty pot to a low heat and tip the potatoes back in. Shake the pot for a minute or two until you see the surface of the potatoes go matte and dry. This is the most important step of the whole recipe. Water is the enemy of crispness, and a wet mash gives you croquettes that burst in the oil.

   Cut the potatoes into pieces of similar size so they cook at the same rate. Uneven chunks give you some pieces that are too soft and others still firm in the middle.
2. 2

   Mash and season

   Push the hot potatoes through a ricer into a clean bowl, or mash them by hand until completely smooth. Never a blender or food processor. Both turn potato into glue, and glue is not what you are after. While the mash is still warm, stir in the egg yolks, the 30g of flour, the grated nutmeg, a good pinch of fine salt, and a few twists of white pepper. The yolks bind everything together. The flour gives structure. The nutmeg is non-negotiable. Taste the mixture and adjust. It should taste clearly of potato and nutmeg, in that order.

3. 3

   Chill the mixture

   Spread the seasoned mash onto a tray, cover with cling film pressed against the surface, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Two is better. The mixture needs time to firm up so you can shape it without it sticking to your hands. Skip this and the croquettes will fall apart in the breadcrumbs and again in the oil.

4. 4

   Shape the croquettes

   Lightly flour your hands and a clean tray. Take about a heaped tablespoon of the chilled mixture at a time and roll it gently between your palms into a small cylinder, roughly 5cm long and 2cm thick. Don't squeeze hard. Loose hands give you a tender, almost fluffy interior. Tight hands give you something dense and heavy. Place each shaped croquette on the floured tray as you go. You should get around twenty-four pieces.

5. 5

   Set up the breading station

   Line up three shallow bowls: the 100g of flour in the first, the beaten eggs in the second, the breadcrumbs in the third. Working with one croquette at a time, roll it first in the flour and tap off the excess, then turn it through the egg until completely coated, then press it gently into the breadcrumbs and roll until evenly covered. Three coats sounds fussy. It is. But the shell is what makes this dish, and a thin or patchy coating bursts in the oil and lets the inside leak out.

   Keep one hand for the dry steps (flour and crumbs) and one hand for the wet step (egg). If you use both hands for everything, your fingers turn into breaded sausages within the first few croquettes.
6. 6

   Chill again

   Place the coated croquettes back on a clean tray and return them to the fridge for another thirty minutes. This second chill sets the coating onto the surface of the mash and gives you that final layer of insurance against bursting. It also gives you time to clean up the kitchen and pour yourself something to drink before you start frying.

7. 7

   Heat the oil

   Pour the oil into a heavy, deep pot. The oil should come up about 8cm and the pot should be no more than half full. Heat to 180C, measured with a probe thermometer. If you don't have one, drop a small cube of bread into the oil. It should turn deep gold in about thirty seconds. Oil that is too cool gives you greasy, pale croquettes. Oil that is too hot scorches the outside and leaves the inside cold. Steady 180C is the number you want.

8. 8

   Fry in batches

   Lower four or five croquettes carefully into the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Don't crowd the pot. Crowding drops the oil temperature and you lose the crisp shell. Fry for three to four minutes, turning once or twice, until the croquettes are deep golden brown all over. You'll hear the sound change as the shell sets. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a tray lined with kitchen paper. Let the oil come back up to temperature between batches.

9. 9

   Salt and serve

   Scatter flaky sea salt across the tops while the croquettes are still glistening from the oil. Serve immediately, while the shell still shatters and the inside is hot and soft. A small bowl of cold remoulade alongside is the right Danish move. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Use floury potatoes, never waxy. Bintje, King Edward, or Maris Piper. Waxy potatoes hold too much water and refuse to give you the dry, fluffy mash this recipe needs.
• •Make the mash mixture a day ahead if you can. It chills more thoroughly, holds its shape better when you roll it, and the flavor settles overnight. This is a dish that rewards planning.
• •Don't be shy with the nutmeg. Freshly grated, never pre-ground from a jar. The Danish potato kitchen has used nutmeg for generations, and it is what tells your tongue these are kartoffelkroketter and not something else.
• •If you're serving these as an appetizer for a Danish dinner, a cold glass of pilsner or a small chilled aquavit is the right thing to put alongside. As a side dish, they belong next to a slow-roasted joint of pork or beef and a few spoonfuls of red cabbage.

Advance Preparation

• •The seasoned mash mixture can be made up to 24 hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Bring it back to a workable temperature before shaping.
• •Coated croquettes can be shaped, breaded, and refrigerated up to 8 hours before frying. Keep them on a parchment-lined tray, uncovered, so the coating stays dry.
• •For longer storage, freeze the coated raw croquettes on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Fry from frozen, adding two minutes to the cooking time and watching the oil temperature carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 200g)