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Crocchè di Latte is a sort of very dense béchamel sauce croquette, but better! as they have a velvety filling, a crunchy crust, and a slight saltiness to break the buttery note.
You almost won’t’ need a scale to make Crocchè di Latte. Mamma didn’t, and this is one of the few recipes I have written down from her dictation, so it’s more than tested. Plus? This is my grand grandmother’s recipe. We are talking about 80 years old and more!!!
Food culture note: why in Sicily there is such a Frenchy recipe? Because of French domination).
Crocché di latte are my weak spot, I really can’t help myself in front of a dish full of crocchè. Mamma and Zia had to hide them, or I would have gobbled them all.
I rewrote this post almost 5 times. Because of all the books I read about food writing, one rule is recurrent: No Nostalgia. Which is s a pretty brutal and almost impossible rule to follow in my opinion as everything about food is nostalgia. The first croissant you ate in Paris is food nostalgia, the first dinner your husband cooked when you were dating to impress you is food nostalgia, that pasta with vongole your mother used to make for Christmas is food nostalgia, and you know what? It’s beautiful.
A lot of memories lived around a table or about a particular food.
I am sure that most of the beautiful recollections you have of your grandmother are 98% about food, no matter if storebought or made from scratch. One of my grandmothers was too old to cook, but she always had for me: money (yeah, she really knew me) and candies. She waited the moment we were alone and secretly and quickly passed me money and sugar, we were narcos. She always carried tons of these candies (only for the kids, she didn’t even like candies), called Rossana, with a red paper and a milky nutty flavor.
Speaking of which, Crocché di latte are my childhood food. It was the dish Mamma and Zia made to make me a surprise, or my special birthday meal. When I came back home from Brussels or Rome, they asked me what do you want to eat? The answer was always the same: crack crocchè di latte.
And you cannot, or better, you surely do, how much joy give me to be able to cook these crocchè, now that Mamma and Zia are not here anymore.
I made these few times, without respecting my mom’s recipe.
Because of my arrogance.
It’s basically a bechamel, but she had a method that goes against any culinary rules of bechamel “put all together, whisk, cook, ready.”
From the top of my knowledge, I kept doing them wrong. I did a classical French sauce and… I never got them right. I tried to adjust the amount of butter, other times the flour, but niet, zero, nope.
Until one day, I followed her instructions: TA-DA. I made crocché.
Ingredients:
- 4 or 5 handfuls of all-purpose flour (sifted) (100 gr)
- 3 or 4 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (but if you like Caciocavallo o Pecorino go ahead!) 50 gr
- 500 ml whole milk
- 1 pinch of salt
- 50 gr Unsalted Butter (3 and half tbsp) in cubes
- 2 eggs divided
- Breadcrumbs for coating
- Oil for frying
Instructions:
In a heavy-bottomed pan place flour, grated Parmigiano and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Add milk whisking slowly to avoid lumps.
If you use a food processor pulse a few times to have a smooth mixture.
Transfer on medium heat and add butter and cook, constantly stirring and when the mixture starts bubbling, lower the temperature.
Continuing to whisk until the sauce thickens. It has to be veeeeery thick (imagine thick like polenta).
Remove from the stove. Let it cool a few minutes, then add a yolk at a time and combine very well (keep the whites for later).
Pour the mixture on a tray or a dish, spread it out (1inch and a half), evenly and let it cool. Once cold, move to the fridge for at least 6 hours (the whole night is better).
Once ready, cut it into rectangles (not too big or they will break during the fry) with the help of a wet spatula or knife. If you need to adjust the shape, do it with your wet hands, it will be more manageable.
Beat the egg whites in a bowl. Place breadcrumbs into another bowl. Dip the crocchè first in the beaten whites then roll them in breadcrumbs.
Once finished, let it rest for a couple of hours, for a better result.
After this time heat the oil in a pan of your choice and fry the crocché, without crowding the pan.
Turn often, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.
And now tell me about you! What is your childhood food?
I love your recipes but you don’t give a number of pieces you can get from a recipe. I noticed it on the mini pavlovas also. Thanks anxious to try these.
Ciao Linda! thanks for the comment. I usually don’t put the number of pieces because I leave to choose the sizes everyone prefers. But I understand it might be useful. I will try to do my best as soon as I make them again and I will update the recipes. Grazie!
Even if for instance you say “makes approx. 24 (2″) cookies” it lets us know if we are doubling the batch or even adjusting the size. Just identify what your batch was and folks can adjust for themselves. Thank you for responding. I appreciate it.
In the last recipes, I am getting better at doing this. You know, I just started three months ago, and between the fact that some recipes have an emotional side to deal with and that other fact that being Italian food is never enough I might get lost. But I am working on it. And thanks for your kindness and help.