SQUASH CROQUETTES

As promised, here’s the 2nd recipe we had for healthier alternatives for your bento boxes. Squash is one of the vegetables I really like eating so I absolutely loved this! I highly recommend that you try making some in your own homes as healthier alternatives to the highly processed chicken nuggets.

½ piece Whole Squash (kalabasa) (about 3 kilo sized ones)

As needed Vegetable Oil

1 piece Small White Onion, minced

As needed Water

To Taste Salt

To Taste White Pepper

2 Tablespoons  Vegetable Oil

1 piece Small White Onion, minced

Optional chopped Cooked Chicken, Corn Kernels, Cooked Ground Beef

1 piece Egg + 1 Tbsp. Milk (eggwash)

½ cup All Purpose Flour

1 cup Japanese Breadcrumbs

As needed cooking Oil, for deep frying

PROCEDURE:

1. Remove the seeds from the squash and cut into wedges.
2. Chop squash into even pieces.
3. In a sauté pan sweat the onions in vegetable oil until soft. Add the squash and continue to sweat.
4. Add a little water at a time to steam the squash and help stop it from burning at the bottom of the pot. Once the squash is soft and mushy, remove from heat.
5. In a mixing bowl, mash the squash and set aside.
6. In a saute pan, heat the other 2 Tbsp. of canola oil and sweat onions and season with salt and pepper.
7. Add sautéed onions to the mashed up squash. Mix well. You can also fold in any additional ingredients (cooked chicken, corn kernels, etc…)
8. Shape into balls or your desired shape and freeze until hard.
9. Prepare the dredging set-up with a small bowl of all purpose flour, another bowl with egg and milk beaten together and the last bowl with the Japanese breadcrumbs.
10. Pull out the squash mixture then dredge first in flour, shake off excess. Transfer to the eggwash bowl and coat well. Shake off excess liquid then transfer to last bowl. Cover well with breadcrumbs.
11. Finish breading all the squash nuggets and freeze again.
12. Meanwhile, in a saucepot heat cooking oil until it reaches 375F.
13. Pull out the squash nuggets from the freezer and drop carefully into hot oil and cook until brown. Cook in batches and do not overcrowd the pot.
14. Remove nuggets from the oil and place on paper towels to remove excess grease.
15. Serve warm as is or with a dipping sauce.

(The finished product is under my chick and beside my apple)