Recipe: Cavolo Nero and Cheese Croquettes with Caramelised Pears and Comeback Sauce
How to get children (and anyone else) into kale: serve in a mash-n-cheese croquette with this classic Mississipi sauce, a tangy cross between marie-rose and ranch dressing. This makes more than you’ll need, but it’s awesome in sandwiches, with veg as a dip, with chips or with seafood.
Don’t bother buying breadcrumbs! Save the ends of your loaves, adding them to a bag in the freezer. When you have enough, push them through the grating attachment on a food processor to turn them into breadcrumbs, and re-freeze until needed.
Make these up to a day ahead including searing the outside, then simply shove them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving, or until piping hot throughout and the breadcrumbs crisp. They can also be made ahead and frozen: bake straight from frozen for 30 minutes until hot through.
Serves 4 / makes between 9 - 12 croquettes
Ingredients
Croquettes
400g potatoes + 20g / a knob of butter; or 400g leftover mashed potato
200g cavolo nero / kale
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon mustard (wholegrain, Dijon, or a pinch of mustard powder)
Zest of ½ lemon
2 spring onions, finely sliced
50g Parmesan, grated
50g cheddar, grated
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
100g breadcrumbs
75g plain flour
1 egg, beaten
2 pears
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon caster sugar
A big handful of salad leaves, to serve (rocket works well)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Comeback sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
¼ onion, minced
1 tablespoon hot sauce (or to taste) – sriracha, or I used Jock’s Hot Sauce, which has a nice smoky kick to it which works really well
Pinch of salt and pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
Method
1. Boil the potatoes until soft and mash them with the butter but not milk – you want them quite dry. Leftover mash made with milk will be fine, but make sure to refrigerate the croquettes for 30 minutes after shaping to firm them up.
2. Strip the hard stalks from the cavalo nero / kale, and shred the leaves. Wash them but don’t shake dry – a little water will help them soften when cooked. Sauté in butter and / or oil until wilted and softened. Add the crushed garlic clove for the final minute; don’t allow it to burn or it will be bitter.
3. Set out four shallow dishes or plates as pictured. Put the flour in the first, the beaten egg in the second, the breadcrumbs on the third and leave the fourth plate empty.
4. Mix the cavolo nero and remaining croquette ingredients into the mashed potato – the easiest way to do this is to scrunch it together with your hands (make sure the kale has cooled sufficiently).
5. Scoop up a big tablespoon of the mix and form it into a fat sausage shape with your hands. Lightly roll it in the flour, tapping off the excess, then gently roll it in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs to cover it well. Put it on the empty plate. Refrigerate the croquettes while you make the comeback sauce, by mixing together all the ingredients.
6. Heat a frying pan with a good slug of rapeseed or light olive oil. Place in the croquettes (you might need to do this in batches – give them plenty of room) and lightly brown on all sides. While they’re browning, lightly oil a baking tray, and then transfer the croquettes to the tray.
7. Transfer the croquettes to the oven for 15 minutes (or however long it takes you to make the dressing and pears) to heat all the way through and for the cheese to melt.
8. Put the balsamic and olive oil in a jar and give it a good shake to combine. Toss the leaves with the dressing, and then place a pile in the centre of each plate. Quarter and core the pears, but don’t peel them.
9. While they’re in, make the caramelised pears: heat a frying pan and add the butter with a drop of oil. Once that’s hot, add the pear wedges and sprinkle over the sugar. Cook until brown and caramelised, this should take about 6-8 minutes. Arrange the croquettes on the leaves, with a pear quarter propped on each one. Serve immediately, with the comeback sauce on the side.