Potato-Sauerkraut Croquettes

( Photo by John Houser III, Special to The Baltimore Sun / November 18, 2011 )

Mashed potatoes are a must at Thanksgiving, and in many houses, so is sauerkraut. Here it gives a little flavor and texture to the potatoes. The key is making sure most of the moisture is squeezed out of the sauerkraut before chopping. Garlicky sun-dried tomato sauce is a great complement to the fried potato croquettes.

For croquettes:

4 large russet potatoes sliced into 1/4-inch planks

8 cloves of garlic

8 ounces sauerkraut squeezed, weighed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup bread crumbs

64 ounces canola oil

3 eggs

For garlic and sun-dried tomato sauce:

1/4 pound sun-dried tomatoes

1 quart of boiling hot water

garlic

red pepper flakes

1 cup of reserved tomato liquid

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

To make croquettes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes, garlic and boil until fork tender (when it easily goes through the potato). Strain out the potatoes and garlic and let cool to room temperature. Place the potatoes garlic, sauerkraut, salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1 egg into a mixing bowl. Mash everything together until it is thoroughly combined. Roll potato mixture into a ball slightly larger than a golf ball. Continue until all of the potato mixture is gone.

Set up your frying station by filling three separate containers for dredging, one with 1 cup of plain flour, the second with egg and the third with the bread crumbs.

In a deep pot heat the oil over medium-high heat. When your thermometer hits 375 degrees, turn the heat down and prepare your items for deep frying.

Take a potato ball and dredge in the plain flour first. Knock off as much as you can and then dredge it into the egg. Let the excess of the egg drip off and then dredge in the spiced flour. Drop the croquette lightly into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning with a wooden spoon or chopstick. Remove from oil and place on a sheet pan with a rack insert or folded up paper towels.

To make sauce: In a small mixing bowl, cover the sun-dried tomatoes with the boiling water. Let it steep for 20 minutes, then drain, while reserving 1 cup of the tomato liquid. In a small food processor, combine the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, water and oil and process until smooth.

To serve: place a spoonful or two of the tomato sauce on a plate and place the croquette on the sauce, or use it as a dipping sauce in separate container.