Potato Cheese Croquettes- Algerian Sfiriyyah
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.
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:
- Peel potatoes and boil until soft. Cutting them into small pieces can help reduce the boiling time.
- Drain water from potatoes and place them in a medium size bowl. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cheese, and salt to mashed potatoes and mix well
- Place mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to shape into balls.
- Shape potato mixture in small balls and set them on a clean tray.
- Refregirate for 10-15 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron pan and allow to come to a temperature of 350 F.
- In A small bowl,crack an egg and mix well. In another bowl place about a cup of panko crumbs.
- Take out the balls from the fridge and dip into the egg and then roll them into the panko crumbs
- 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
- Place the balls on a platter covered with paper towel to pick up the excess oil.
- Enjoy the potatoes cheese balls with tagine zaytoon or as a soup accompaniement.
Notes:
- Traditionally the sfiriyya are coated with flour but we used panko crumbs because we love the extra crunch it provides.
- 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.