Cheese-Stuffed Mushroom Croquettes
Inspired by Croquetas de Champiñones, or Spanish Mushroom Croquettes, these crispy croquettes are filled with gooey, melted mozzarella cheese and wrapped in mushrooms cooked in a creamy béchamel sauce.
Equipment
- 1 spider strainer or metal tongs
- 1 large sauté pan or other heavy bottomed pot (you can wash and reuse the same one you use to cook the mushrooms; it does not have to be a deep pot because the croquettes are shallow fried instead of deep fried)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (or olive oil)
- 1 medium shallot, finely minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb white button or cremini mushrooms, very finely chopped (see Note 1)
- ½ tsp salt, or more to taste
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup white wine, optional (see Note 2)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 6 pieces mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks about 1 inch x 2 inches long (see Note 3)
Béchamel Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups milk (whole milk is best, but any percentage works great)
- ½ tsp salt, or more to taste
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
For Breading and Frying
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 cups neutral oil, for frying (see Note 4)
Instructions
- Start by cooking the mushrooms and drawing out their liquid: melt the butter in a large sauté pan over low heat
- Add the shallot and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds
- Add the mushrooms, then season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper (the salt will help draw out the moisture from the mushrooms)
- Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are cooked through and most of the liquid released has evaporated
- Increase the heat to medium to ensure any remaining liquid evaporates and the pan is almost fully dry
- Add the white wine, scrape to deglaze the pan, then simmer over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the wine has reduced and the liquid has fully evaporated again (see Note 2)
- Stir in the fresh parsley and season with additional salt to taste, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool
- While the mushrooms are cooling, make the béchamel: in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat
- Add the flour and whisk, then cook for 4-5 minutes or until the roux is lightly golden and toasted
- Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously
- Increase the heat to medium-low and bring to a very gentle boil, whisking continuously, until thickened
- Once thickened, reduce the heat back to low and stir in the salt, black pepper and nutmeg
- Add half of the Parmesan cheese and whisk until fully melted and smooth, then add the remaining Parmesan and whisk again until smooth
- Combine the béchamel and the mushrooms in either pan or a heatproof bowl and stir (see Note 5)
- Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours or until completely cooled (this makes shaping the croquettes much easier)
- When the mixture has cooled and hardened, shape into 6 large equal sized balls or ovals (see Note 3)
- Shape the mushroom mixture around the mozzarella cheese sticks, ensuring the cheese is fully covered
- Transfer to a plate and freeze for 2 hours until firm (this makes them easier to handle and makes breading much easier)
- Once the croquettes are cold and easy to handle, add the flour, egg and breadcrumbs to 3 separate shallow bowls; beat the egg
- One at a time, dip the croquettes in the flour, then in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs, pressing to ensure all sides are well coated; transfer breaded croquettes to a plate
- Freeze for 10-15 minutes while the oil heats up
- Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large sauté pan until shimmering; it should be around 325℉/170℃ and no hotter than 350℉/180℃ (see Note 6)
- Fry the croquettes in 2 or 3 batches for around 45 seconds on each side or until golden brown and crispy
- Using a spider strainer or metal tongs, transfer fried croquettes to a paper towel lined rack – try to avoid using a plate if you have a rack so they don’t sit in the oil and stay perfectly crispy
Notes
1. White button mushrooms and cremini, or baby bella mushrooms, are both great for this recipe. Use whatever you have on hand or prefer, or even a mixture of both. You should have about 3 cups of mushrooms when chopped.
2. The wine in this recipe is completely optional. If you prefer to omit it, simply skip that step.
3. You can cut the pieces of mozzarella cheese slightly smaller or larger depending on how cheesy you’d like the croquettes to be. Or, you can even skip the cheese stuffing and make classic mushroom croquettes. You should get about 12 small croquettes if you’re not stuffing them with cheese.
4. Any neutral oil with a high smoke point is great for this recipe, such as avocado, canola, vegetable, sunflower or peanut oil.
5. If you prefer (or you really don’t want to wash a second pan) you can cook the béchamel in the same pan as the mushrooms once their liquid has reduced. I find cooking the two separately is a little more foolproof as it ensures the mushrooms will cool a little before adding them to the béchamel, so there won’t be any risk of excess liquid causing the sauce to separate or thin out. It also makes it much easier to ensure your béchamel is completely smooth and free of any lumps of flour.
6. Your oil is ready to fry when it shimmers, but it’s always best to check to be sure with a chopstick or thermometer. If you place one end of a chopstick in the oil and it bubbles lightly, it’s ready to go.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 croquetteCalories: 284kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 12gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 718mgPotassium: 433mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 663IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 230mgIron: 2mg
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