Croquettes with broccoli and sausage

Today I propose a tasty and satisfying recipe: potato croquettes stuffed with sausage, broccoli, in which I combined my favorite ingredients and the result was fabulous! They have a stringy and tasty filling, the surprise inside will leave you amazed at every bite, giving you that something more than the classic potato croquettes.

Croquettes with sausage and broccoli can be served as an appetizer or finger food, but they can also be considered a single dish since they contain fiber, carbohydrates and protein.

 Croquettes with broccoli and sausage are a new way to taste the new arancine, a more winter dress for a piece of timeless Sicilian tradition. According to the most widespread legend, on this day of 1646 landed in the port of Palermo a ship full of wheat that put an end to a famine that had brought the whole city to its knees. This miracle was attributed to St. Lucia, implored by the people of Palermo to save them from that dark period. To announce the arrival of the ship loaded with grain, and therefore the fulfillment of the miracle, was a white dove that landed on the episcopal throne. In order to consume the wheat immediately, it was not ground but boiled and eaten, seasoned only with oil.

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes

water to taste

10 g coarse salt

2 eggs

80 g pecorino cheese

3 sprigs parsley

pepper (if you like)

1.5 l peanut oil (for frying)

Ingredients for the filling

200 g broccoli (turnip already cleaned)

100 g sausage

70 g extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 pinch coarse salt

Half a glassof water

Ingredients for breading

80 g flour 

160 g water

breadcrumbs  to taste

Preparation

The main ingredient of this recipe are potatoes (I used those of Sila, which are yellow potatoes), first wash them well to remove soil residues and arrange them, with the skin, in a saucepan with cold water and with 10 grams of coarse salt, bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes. The cooking time varies depending on the size and quality of the potatoes, so to control the cooking you can stick them with a fork: if it enters easily they are cooked. Meanwhile, you can start preparing the filling of croquettes. Wash the tops of the broccoli thoroughly to remove any soil residue. Then crumble the sausage with a small knife. Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a pan, add the garlic and crumbled sausage, brown for about 5 minutes, turning the sausage occasionally. Add the broccoli with a pinch of coarse salt and cook for about half an hour. If necessary, add half a glass of water. The broccoli will be cooked when the fork easily enters the stem. So if you need to cook even a few more minutes. At this point the potatoes will be cooked, after peeling and crushing, add the eggs, cheese, chopped parsley and if you like a sprinkling of pepper. Mix well. To prepare the batter put the water and flour in a bowl and mix well to remove any lumps. Now we move on to the preparation of croquettes: take about 80 grams of potato dough and crush it lightly in your hand, put in the center about a tablespoon of sausage and broccoli (drained from the oil) and a few pieces of provola cheese; Take another 20 grams of potato dough and place it on top of the filling, roll up, perhaps giving an elongated shape. Pass the croquette bowler hat first in the batter and then in breadcrumbs. Let the croquettes rest for about 2 hours in the refrigerator. Pour the peanut oil into a pan with high edges and bring it to a temperature of 170 °C. Fry the croquettes for about 10 minutes, turning them from time to time. Drain them on kitchen paper towels. Serve hot!