Almond Potato Croquettes

Almond potato croquettes are made by mixing mashed potatoes with almond meal, shaping into balls, and then deep fat frying. They make a delicious accompaniment to just about any main dish where potatoes might be served. Although perhaps a little time consuming, they are still very easy to make and will add a nice touch of elegance to your dinner table.

Recipe Notes

Almonds

This potato croquette recipe calls for almond meal, which is made from finely ground nuts. It is sometimes sold as almond flour. It also calls for sliced almonds, but you can substitute slivered if that is what you have. I would recommend chopping the slivered almonds a little though. As with all cut nut products, store unused portions in the freezer - cut nuts quickly become rancid.

Mashed Potatoes

Do follow the recipe directions for mashing the potatoes. If you try substituting leftover mashed potatoes they may be too moist. As it heats in the oil, the excess water in the potatoes will cause the croquettes to fall apart.

Shaping

The original recipe for pommes amandine that I tested called for shaping the croquettes into pear shapes. This is really not necessary, but in truth kind of fun for a change.

Finishing Salt

The final step in making a perfect croquette is sprinkling with a little salt while they are still very hot. I recommend French sea salt for this, but do use whatever is your favorite coarse sea salt.

Serving

Because they need to be served quite hot and fresh out of the oil bath, it is best to serve the potato croquettes with something that doesn't require any last minute fussing. You can make them up to the point they are breaded and leave them to chill in the fridge until you are ready to fry. The final step of frying only takes a few minutes. They would be quite nice with any dish that has a small amount of sauce. For a great combination, try it with these mustard pork chops.