Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.
Causa Croquettes
Causa Croquettes is a traditional Peruvian recipe for a classic fried croquettes with a prawn and crab meat filling that make excellent party nibbles and are well suited for New Year’s Eve festivities. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Peruvian version of: Causa Croquettes.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
35 minutes
Total Time:
55 minutes
Makes:
15
Rating: 
Tags : Peru Recipes
These are deep-fried Peruvian croquettes with a prawn and crab meat filling that make excellent party nibbles and are well suited for New Year’s Eve festivities. They have a potato coating… which is very Peruvian. Nota that potatoes were first domesticated in Peru and spread outwards from there. They’re served with one of my favourite things, an avocado dressing.
Ingredients:
750g (1 2/3 lbs) potatoes
1 large knob of unsalted butter
1 red onion
1 lime
200g (1/2 lb) small cooked prawns
100g (1/4 lb) white crabmeat
1-2 teaspoons aji amarillo paste (this is made with mild orange chillies), or piri piri sauce
100g (5/6 cup) plain flour
2 large eggs
100g (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
1l (4 cups) vegetable oil
For the Avocado Dressing:
2 ripe avocados
2 limes
1 red onion
1 ripe tomato
1 bunch of fresh coriander (about 30g [1 oz])
extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Peel and cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks, then transfer to a large pan of cold, salted, water. Place over medium heat then bring to a boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan and steam dry for a few minutes then mash until really smooth (use a potato ricer if you have one). Season well, then blend in the butter.
For the guacamole-style dressing, halve and pit the avocados, then scrape the flesh into a medium-sized bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and squeeze over the lime juice.
Peel and grate in the onion along with the tomato, then mash together to a chunky guacamole. Chop the coriander and add it to the guacamole with plenty of extra virgin olive oil, then set aside until it’s time to serve.
Peel and finely chop the red onion, then place into a small bowl with the finely-grated lime zest and juice. Toss together and set aside to marinate for 5 to 10 minutes.
Finely chop the prawns and mix together with the crab meat and aji amarillo paste, seasoning well. Mix in the onions, leaving behind any excess juice.
Line up 3 shallow bowls adding flour to the first, beaten eggs to the next and breadcrumbs to the third.
To assemble the croquettes, place a scoop of mashed potato in your palm and roll into a ball (roughly 4cm in diameter). Press a hole in the middle with your thumb, about 2cm deep, and spoon in some of the prawn and crab mixture.
Close the hole as gently as you can to conceal the filling, then repeat with the remaining ingredients until you’ve used up all the mash and filling – you should end up with around 15 croquettes.
Roll each croquette in the flour, dip it into the egg (letting the excess drip off), then coat in breadcrumbs.
Pour the vegetable oil into a large pan and gently heat to 180°C (a cube of bread dropped into the oil will turn brown within 1 minute).
Gently lower the croquettes into the oil with a slotted spoon and fry for around 4 minutes, or until golden and crisp – you’ll need to do this in batches.
Drain the cooked croquettes on kitchen paper, then serve hot on a plate smeared with the guacamole.
