Spring Pea Croquettes

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

This delightfully easy croquette recipe is full of fresh spring flavors! They're a perfect appetizer, or you can make them ahead of time and pair with salad for lunch. Combine creamy ricotta with English peas, butter beans, scallions, mint, breadcrumbs & lemon zest then form into balls and pan fry until crispy golden brown. Serve with a lemony Greek yogurt dip of tahini, sour cream & refreshing mint leaves.

This recipe makes 6-8 croquettes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lemon
• 1 scallion
• 1/3 cup mint
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup English peas
• 1/4 cup butter beans
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. PREPARE VEGGIES & YOGURT DIP

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil
• Zest and juice lemon, keeping separate
• Remove bottom root from scallion and chop into large pieces
• Remove large stems from mint and chop 1 Tbsp for dip, setting remaining leaves aside
• In a small bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, tahini, chopped mint, olive oil & HALF of lemon juice, seasoning generously with salt & pepper, then set aside
• Add peas & butter beans to boiling water and cook for 1-2 min, until just tender, then drain

2. MAKE CROQUETTES

• In a food processor, combine scallion, peas, butter beans, lemon zest, remaining half of lemon juice, remaining whole mint leaves, ricotta, flour, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper, processing until smooth
• In a sauté pan with sides, heat vegetable oil over high for 1 min, then reduce heat to med
• Using 3 Tbsp of dough for each croquette, shape into balls
• Add the croquettes to hot oil, flatten with a spatula, and fry for 4 min, then flip croquettes and continue frying for another 3-4 min until cooked through and crisp on all sides
• Remove croquettes from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate

3. PLATE & ENJOY!

• Serve the croquettes warm with lemon yogurt dip on the side