The Silver Palate: Aunt Tandy's Chicken Croquettes

Last week I bought a massive amount of chicken with the intention of making some Chinese food, but somehow I forgot to buy the lemons and oranges to make the sauces. That's what happens when you go to the store without a list. So instead I made two chicken dishes from the Silver Palate. The first is chicken croquettes which the book recommends as a light Sunday dinner. I've had ham croquettes many times because they are a part of Cuban cuisine. Cuban croquettes, known as croquettas, are really creamy inside and always fried. The chicken croquettes are more solid, so I decided to bake them to save calories and the pain of frying. These croquettes are coated in thick crunchy layer of paprika infused bread crumbs. While Sam referred to these as fancy chicken nuggets, they were still delicious, especially with a bit of marinara sauce on top.



Aunt Tandy's Chicken Croquettes

4 slices challah bread
1/2 cup water
2 whole chicken breasts, cut into 3 inch pieces
4 eggs
1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons paprika
2 cups bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Soak the challah in 1/2 cup of water for 15 minutes. Squeeze dry and tear into small pieces.
2. Process the chicken in a food processor with a steel blade until coarsely chopped. Add the eggs, bread, onion, salt and pepper, then process until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up the mixture.
3. Combine the bread crumbs and paprika in a bowl and then pour onto a large plate.
4. Shape the chicken patties into 3 inch disks. Then coat evenly with the bread crumbs. You can roll the croquettes in a little olive oil if the bread crumb mixture does not start to stick.
5. Coat the bottom of a 9"x13" pyrex pan with either butter or olive oil and place the croquettes in the pan.
6. Bake the croquettes for 40 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce.

Makes 15 croquettes.