Our today’s recipe gets inspiration from the Neapolitan tradition: the Crocchette di Casatiello, breadcrumbed croquettes that combine the sweet flavour of Potatoes with the strong taste of Cold Cuts.
The “Casatiello” is one of the most popular dishes of the Neapolitan cuisine. It is a donut-shaped cake, either sweet or savoury that was prepared at home already in the seventeenth century, especially during the Easter season.
The dough of the savoury version looks like bread, filled with Cheese, Pig Lard and different types of Cold Cuts. Once prepared, the dough is left to rise for at least 12 hours and then cooked in the wood-fired oven.
Since it is a highly caloric dish, Casatiello was usually prepared during the holiday season and shared with the whole family. It is often kept for the following days, cut into slices or used as a packed lunch for a day out.
Here at Obicà we took the traditional Casatiello recipe and gave it a more delicious (and less caloric) shape: this is how our Crocchetta di Casatiello was born. To prepare it we use Potatoes for the dough, whose sweet taste perfectly matches with the intense flavour of the Cold Cuts. As usual, we select only high-quality Italian cold cuts, such as Prosciutto Crudo di Parma, Prosciutto Cotto Arrosto and Salame Felino.
Those who are at home during this time can also use the cold cuts available in the fridge, to create your own version of the Crocchette di Casatiello.
Thanks to the crunchy consistency of the breading and the strong taste, our Crocchette di Casatiello are the ideal starter for a lunch or a dinner. But they are also perfect for the Aperitivo, maybe paired with an excellent glass of red wine or a homemade Spritz.
Let's find out how to prepare them!
INGREDIENTS
for eight Croquettes
For the Croquettes:
250 gr of Potatoes
30 gr of Grana Padano
1/2 Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP
15 gr of Prosciutto Crudo di Parma DOP
15 gr of Prosciutto Cotto Arrosto
15 gr of Salame Felino IGP
Salt to taste
For Breading and Frying:
1 Egg
75 gr of Flour
75 gr of Grated Bread
Sunflower Oil
PREPARATION OF THE CROQUETTES
First, boil the Potatoes in boiling water.
In the meantime, cut the Cold Cuts into small pieces of half centimeter each.
Then dice the Mozzarella di Bufala and let it drain for a few minutes so that it doesn’t lose water while cooking.
When the Potatoes are ready, peel and mash them in a container using a fork.
Add the Cold Cuts and the grated Grana Padano.
Mix until you get a compact and homogeneous mixture.
Then add a pinch of Salt to your taste.
Now, using your hands, knead the dough to get 8 Croquettes with the classic cylindrical shape, as you can see in our photo.
Once the Croquettes are ready, put with your fingers a dice of Mozzarella di Bufala inside each Croquette.
HOW TO BREAD
Now we can focus on the breading.
At Obicà we always make a double breading, to give our Croquettes that unmistakable crunchiness that you love so much.
Break the Egg, pour it into a bowl and whip it with a fork.
Put the Grated Bread into a second bowl.
Place the Flour on a shelf and roll the Croquettes one by one, making the Flour adhere well to the surface.
Now, dip the Croquettes in the Egg and then in the Grated Bread.
Once the first breading is finished, you can go on with the second one: dip the Croquettes again first in the Egg and then in the Grated Bread.
HOW TO FRY
Now we can fry our Croquettes, preferably using Sunflower Oil: we recommend this Oil variety, because it makes the frying golden, crisp and light, therefore easily to digest.
Heat the Oil in a large pan, making sure there is enough to completely cover the Croquettes.
Fry for about 5 minutes, checking the browning constantly.
Then remove the Croquettes as soon as they reach the desired browning and drain on paper towels to remove the Oil in excess.
HOW TO SERVE
Once drained, the Croquettes are ready to be served.
During last Winter we served them paired with a Taleggio Fondue and Pumpkin, but you can also enjoy them like this, hot and freshly fried, perhaps paired with the seasonal Vegetables you prefer.
We are so curious to see your version of our Crocchette di Casatiello: share with us your photos and videos on Instagram by tagging @obicamozzarellabar!
And if you would like to try other delicious recipes, discover also how to prepare our Pizza Bufala DOP, Pollo Nostrano Salad and Frangipane with Pears.
