This is a fun thing to bring out at a dinner party over the next while. A twist on the potato croquette, which can be a little bland.
In this one we bring in a soffritto of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery, along with some bell pepper for additional colour and goodness.
Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
Some grated cheese (dairy or vegan)
Some fine breadcrumbs
Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Put in a pot with enough cold water to cover, and put on a high heat. No salt yet! When the potatoes are fully soft, pour off most of the water into a jug. Add some salt now and a good dash of olive oil and mash the potato. Add back in enough of the reserved cooking water to achieve a smooth consistency. Leave aside while you get on with the soffritto.
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add in all the finely chopped veg along with a pinch of salt and some dried herbs. Pit the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Now stir in the mashed potato, making sure that all is well combined. Leave aside for a while to cool down.
Preheat an oven to 180C. Prepare 12 paper cup cake cases by likely brushing with oil.
Split the potato mix in half and subdivide this half into 12. Put these into the cup cake cases. Make an indent and push in a pinch of grated cheese into each of the 12.
Subdivide the remaining mix into 12 and use these to top each cup cake. Brush each lightly with olive oil and then sprinkle on some breadcrumbs.
Bake in the oven for about 20/25 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Serve with some green beans and gravy.