These croquettes are fun and easy to make, smell amazing while being prepped, and look really pretty once plated. To make these, sweet potatoes are mashed and combined with fluffy red quinoa, then binded together with panko crumbs and a touch of peanut butter, while everything is nicely balanced out with a touch of sambal oelek. Once the croquettes are browned, they can then be dragged through this rich and creamy coconut-tomato sauce, which has been kissed with a dash of cinnamon and garam masala to create a subtly spiced and beautifully fragrant dish.
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RED QUINOA AND SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 croquettes
Ingredients
for the croquettes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup red quinoa, rinsed a few times
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato, cubed*)
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1/2 TB natural peanut butter (preferrably chunky)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup panko crumbs
- 1 TB sambal oelek (optional), or more to taste
for the sauce
- 1 TB canola oil
- 1 cup shallots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TB fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 TB wine or broth
- 2 TB tomato paste
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.66 oz)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sweet potato cubes and boil, uncovered, while you prepare the quinoa.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a small boil. Reduce the heat to low, add in the quinoa, cover, and allow to remain at a low simmer for 15 minutes without removing the lid during the cooking time. Remove from the heat but leave it covered for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
- By now, your sweet potatoes should be done and they should mash easily against the side of the pan with a fork. Drain, return them to the pan, and mash them up with a potato masher.
- In a large bowl, combine the hot sweet potato and quinoa. Stir well to combine, then add in the rest of the croquette ingredients, adding 1 TB of sambal at a time and tasting it, adding more as you like. Cover and place the mixture into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- To make your sauce, heat the canola oil over medium-low heat. Add in the shallots and allow to sweat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent browning. Add in the garlic and ginger, stir and allow to saute for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cinnamon, garam masala and salt, then stir and increase the heat to medium. After 1-2 minutes, add in the wine or broth to deglaze the pan. Reduce the heat to low, then add in the tomato paste, fold in the parsley and add in the coconut milk. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To make the croquettes, roll them into golfball-sized spheres, then flatten them a bit between your palms. Lightly grease a flat-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Fry the croquettes until golden brown on each side.
- Serve immediately with the warmed sauce.
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
*If you have any leftover mashed sweet potatoes, this recipe is a nice way to use them up!
Michelle Thiele says
Gorgeous! The sauce sounds so intriguing, I've never tried to make anything like it before. I will be trying it this week!
erinwyso says
Thank you, I hope you enjoy!
Anonymous says
ditto
Caitlin says
these look so delicious, erin! i cannot way to make these! do you think i could just leave the breadcrumbs out or sub them with something?
erinwyso says
Thanks Caitlin! I read somewhere that you can sub crushed Rice Chex cereal to make a sort of gf panko. If it still needs a little more binder after 2 hours of chilling, you can add a little more peanut butter to hold it together.
I hope you and D enjoy! : )
Wendy says
These look beautiful and the sauce sounds to die for! Love the addition of peanut butter in the croquettes.
Abby@ The Frosted Vegan says
These are absolutley gorgeous! I love the presentation!
Amy says
These look so incredibly tasty, not to mention beautiful as well!! Love the coconut-tomato sauce combo, that sounds so lovely.
punkypine says
This is SO yummy! I made this the other night. I made only a few adjustments. I used 3 scallions because did not sound like enough (and next time I'll use even more). I also used regular potatoes as I HATE sweet potatoes. Hmmm…what else? Oh yeah, I added more salt and used only a third of the sambal. Also, I made sure the patties were nicely browned and pretty crispy on the outsides.
Thanks for posting this recipe; it was AWESOME!
erinwyso says
punkypine: So happy you made this and enjoyed it … it's one of my favorites. I love your adjustments!
Alex @ delicious-knowledge.com says
So creative! These croquettes look incredible!
Sandra Ribeiro says
Thanks! It looks amazing!