Chestnut Croquettes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart heavy saucepan for the vanilla syrup
• •Fine-mesh sieve or food mill with fine plate
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Wide heavy saucepan and firm wooden spoon
• •Parchment-lined sheet pan
• •4-quart deep heavy saucepan for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Wire skimmer and cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach in vanilla syrup

   Combine the water, sugar, vanilla seeds, and pod in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then lower the heat so the thin syrup barely trembles. Add the prepared and peeled Chestnuts (Marrons) (No. 2172), including the twenty intended for the centers. Cover the surface with a round of parchment and cook gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until the nuts are tender and vanilla-scented but the center pieces remain intact. A hard boil breaks them into rubble. Lift out twenty small whole nuts and drain them on a rack, then drain the remainder for 10 minutes. Reserve at least ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g) of the vanilla syrup for the sauce.

   Choose the center nuts before sieving anything. Once the tender chestnuts begin breaking, twenty handsome whole ones become surprisingly difficult to find.
2. 2

   Sieve and weigh

   While the drained chestnuts are still warm, force them through a fine-mesh sieve or the finest plate of a food mill. Do not use a blender, which can turn their starch gummy. Weigh exactly 1 lb (454 g) of smooth purée for the croquettes; set any excess aside. The proportion matters because this amount takes precisely five yolks and 1½ oz (42 g) butter.

3. 3

   Dry and bind

   Put the purée in a wide, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and work it constantly with a firm wooden spoon for 7 to 10 minutes. Scrape the floor and corners as you stir. It is dry enough when it gathers into one mass, leaves a clean track across the pan, and loses its wet surface shine. Take the pan off the heat for 30 seconds, beat in the yolks one at a time, then beat in the butter. Return it to medium-low heat and stir for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the paste again draws cleanly from the pan and reaches 165°F (74°C). Press a spoonful onto a cold plate. If it spreads, continue drying over low heat for 2 minutes and test again. Ça se rattrape, but do not accept a loose paste.

4. 4

   Chill the paste

   Spread the chestnut paste about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick on a parchment-lined tray so it cools evenly. Press parchment directly against its surface and let it lose its heat for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 45 minutes. It should be cold, firm, and easy to lift without sticking. If it is still soft, give it another 15 minutes in the cold rather than adding crumbs to the filling.

5. 5

   Enclose the marrons

   Divide the paste into twenty portions of about 1 oz (28 g), the size of small pigeons’ eggs. Flatten one portion into a thick disc in your palm, set a drained whole chestnut in the center, and close the paste around it. Roll gently into a smooth ball with no seam or exposed nut. If the paste sticks, chill it briefly; if a fine crack appears, pinch it closed with cold fingertips. Every opening is a path for the filling to escape.

6. 6

   Paner à l’anglaise

   Paner à l’anglaise means coating first with flour, then egg preparation, then fine crumbs. Roll each ball lightly in flour and knock off every excess. Coat it completely in the prepared Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), let the surplus drain, then roll it in the very fine breadcrumbs, pressing just enough to close the coat. Set the breaded croquettes on a clean tray and refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes. If you spot a bare patch or crack, touch it with a little Anglaise and crumbs before chilling.

7. 7

   Make apricot sauce

   Combine the apricot preserves with ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g) of the reserved vanilla syrup in a small saucepan. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring until glossy and fluid enough to pour from a spoon. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, taste, and loosen it with another spoonful of syrup if it has tightened too far. Keep it warm and serve it separately, as the original directs.

8. 8

   Fry and serve

   Pour the oil into a deep, heavy saucepan, leaving the pan no more than half full, and heat it to 355°F (180°C). Fry one test croquette first. It should seal at once, rise, and turn deep chestnut-gold in about 2 minutes. If it splits, stop before sacrificing the rest: chill the remaining croquettes for 20 minutes, patch any seams with Anglaise and crumbs, then test again. Fry the croquettes four at a time, returning the oil to temperature between batches. Lift them to a wire rack, not a pile of paper where their undersides soften, and serve at once with the warm vanilla-apricot sauce in a separate jug. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh chestnuts should feel heavy and tight in their shells. Outside their season, sound unsweetened vacuum-packed whole chestnuts are the classical pantry’s honest answer; they replace the peeling work in Chestnuts (Marrons) (No. 2172), not the vanilla poaching that belongs to this dish.
• •Use fine, dry breadcrumbs rather than coarse crumbs. The coat must become a close shell immediately in the fat, and large flakes leave weak seams around the soft filling.
• •A thermometer is the honest home equivalent of a fryer kept hot through service. Oil below 340°F (170°C) soaks the crust before it seals; oil much above 365°F (185°C) darkens the crumbs before the center is warmed.
• •Serve the croquettes immediately. A lightly sweet Loire Chenin works beautifully alongside them, with enough freshness for the apricot and enough breadth for chestnut, butter, and vanilla.

Advance Preparation

• •The times assume the Chestnuts (Marrons) (No. 2172) and Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) are ready as separate finished preparations, exactly as the book organizes them.
• •The bound chestnut paste can be made one day ahead, covered directly with parchment, and refrigerated. Let it stand for 10 minutes before portioning if it is too firm to shape.
• •The croquettes can be shaped, breaded, and refrigerated uncovered for up to 8 hours before frying. The dry rest strengthens their coating.
• •The vanilla-apricot sauce keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat it gently and loosen it with a spoonful of water or reserved syrup if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 505g)