Neapolitan Panzerotti – filled potato croquettes

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 750 g potatoes, floury or mostly waxy
• 50 g ham, raw or cooked, if desired
• 1 ball of mozzarella
• 2 eggs, size L or 3 eggs size M, separated
• 4 tbsp Grana Padano
• 2 tbsp parsley, fresh or frozen, finely chopped
• 1 tsp, leveled salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• e.g. breadcrumbs
• e.g. sunflower oil or rapeseed oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

delicious leftovers, easy to prepare or freeze

Peel, wash, and quarter the potatoes. Boil in plenty of salted water until tender. Drain the water and toss the potatoes in a hot pot until the remaining water has evaporated. Press the cooked potatoes or leftover boiled potatoes from the previous day through a ricer into a bowl, or mash them thoroughly with a potato masher or a fork. Cut the mozzarella into small cubes and the ham into very small cubes. Add the ham to the potatoes and set the mozzarella aside. Add the Parmesan cheese, egg yolks, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Knead everything well into a dough, preferably by hand. If the dough is too loose, mix in a little potato flour or 405 flour; if it’s too dry, add one more egg yolk. Take a little dough in each hand and form a well, place some mozzarella into the well, and close the “croquette” around the mozzarella. Shape into panzerotti and set aside. I make the panzerotti about 4 cm long and 2 cm in diameter, which makes about 20 pieces. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Carefully add the panzerotti, one at a time, and then coat them in the breadcrumbs. Heat plenty of oil in a non-stick pan or deep fryer and fry the panzerotti until golden yellow to brown on all sides – this goes pretty quickly, so it’s best to stay with it. Remove the fried panzerotti and place them on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Cover with kitchen paper and a plate, perhaps under the covers, so they stay wonderfully warm. In Naples, panzerotti are about twice the size and are usually eaten as the fourth or fifth course on Sundays, with any leftovers eaten the next day as a starter or dessert. You can, of course, also eat them as a somewhat substantial side dish to meat dishes. You can prepare the panzerotti very well in advance, then wait to bread them until just before frying; fried leftovers freeze very well.