Potato Cheese Croquettes- Algerian Sfiriyyah

Algerian Sfiriyya Potato Cheese Croquettes

Sometimes I crave something cheesy, gooey, and crunchy. The Algerian Potato Cheese Croquettes, also known as Sfiriyya fulfills all these requirements. These croquettes are traditionally served with olives tagine zaytoon, a more involved and delicious alternative to fried potato. Sfiriyya is not something I ate growing up, I discovered it as I was researching Algerian cuisine and it instantly became a favorite with my family.

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Potato Cheese Croquettes- Algerian Sfiriyyah

by Sakina | May 2019

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes
• Inactive time: 20 minutes
• Total time: 55 minutes

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

• 3 medium baking potatoes*
• ½ yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic*
• ½ cup chopped parsley*
• ½ cup Comte cheese
• Salt to taste
• 1 egg *
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs *

Instructions:

1. Peel potatoes and boil until soft. Cutting them into small pieces can help reduce the boiling time.
2. Drain water from potatoes and place them in a medium size bowl. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
3. Add chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cheese, and salt to mashed potatoes and mix well
4. Place mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to shape into balls.
5. Shape potato mixture in small balls and set them on a clean tray.
6. Refregirate for 10-15 minutes.
7. Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron pan and allow to come to a temperature of 350 F.
8. In A small bowl,crack an egg and mix well. In another bowl place about a cup of panko crumbs.
9. Take out the balls from the fridge and dip into the egg and then roll them into the panko crumbs
10. Once all the balls have been coated, place them into the frying pan. Fry for 5 mins on both sides or until both sides are golden browns
11. Place the balls on a platter covered with paper towel to pick up the excess oil.
12. Enjoy the potatoes cheese balls with tagine zaytoon or as a soup accompaniement.

Notes:

1. Traditionally the sfiriyya are coated with flour but we used panko crumbs because we love the extra crunch it provides.
2. When coating with crumbs, I suggest adding little to the bowl at a time so that you don’t end up with leftover bread crumbs that cannot be used again.#WasteNothing

Denotes items that we prefer to be organic. Read more about it here: Items to buy organic when grocery shopping.