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Rice and Cheese Croquettes

Rice and cheese croquettes are fried balls of rice, cheese, and egg served with tomato sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Ithaca (N.Y.) First Baptist Church. Ladies Union · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 22 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Rice and Cheese Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the croquettes

  1. Combine 1 cup of cold boiled rice, half a cup of cheese, 1 beaten egg, salt, and pepper to taste.

  2. Heat until the egg is cooked, then turn out onto a platter and, when cold, divide into portions.

  3. Form each portion into a croquette.

  4. Roll the croquettes in crumbs.

Fry and serve

  1. Fry the croquettes in smoking hot lard.

  2. Serve the croquettes with tomato sauce.

Make the tomato sauce

  1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter for the tomato sauce.

  2. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and a little pepper.

  3. Pour 1 cup of strained tomato into the mixture, adding a few drops of onion juice if desired.

  4. Cook the sauce for 5 minutes.

  5. The sauce is ready for use.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1038Calories
53 gProtein
45 gFat
103 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Sardine100g canned drained208
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Ithaca (N.Y.) First Baptist Church. Ladies Union. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Mustard + cheesetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,805 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Boiled rice (in the method)
Forms the bulk of the croquette and gives it a soft, starchy interior.
Egg
Binds the rice and cheese so the croquettes hold their shape.
Cheese
Adds richness and flavour to the rice mixture.
Flour
Thickens the butter to form a roux that gives the tomato sauce body.
Strained tomato
Provides the main body and acidity of the sauce.

The step that matters

Fry the croquettes in smoking hot lard. If the fat is not hot enough, the croquettes absorb oil and turn greasy before the crumb crisps and browns. Hot fat seals the crumb quickly so the inside stays moist.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, mustard, cheese, cream, egg, pepper):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Horseradishfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, mustard, cheese, cream, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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