Spicy Rice Croquettes with Avocado Cream & Chorizo
Ingredients
For the Croquettes
- 2 cups Carolina® Jasmine Rice
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz dried chorizo, casing removed (cut into large pieces)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, minced
- 3 each garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 can (4 oz.) Chipotle in adobo (minced), plus tablespoon of sauce
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
- ¾ tsp coarse salt
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
Breading and Filling
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unseasoned fine bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
- 6 oz queso fresco, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 6 cups canola oil
For the Sauce
- 1 large avocado, diced
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp coarse salt
Instructions
These spicy croquettes are filled with the delicious combination of chorizo, Carolina® Jasmine Rice, minced onion, jalapeño peppers, chipotle in adobo and fresh cilantro leaves and served with a fresh sauce made of avocado, cream cheese and lime juice.
Step 1
For the rice – Place chorizo in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and chorizo to pan and render out the fat. After 5 min. remove the chorizo and leave the fat, chorizo should have a nice rich color. In another pot heat the stock.Step 2
Add the onion, garlic and jalapeño to the fat and sweat until translucent, about 5 min. Add the rice and turn up the heat to high and stir, coating rice. Add hot stock to the rice, bring to simmer, cover and cook for 15 min or until liquid is absorbed. Spread on a sheet pan to cool.Step 3
In a bowl. Combine eggs, rice, chorizo, cilantro, and chipotle, cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.Step 4
Breading – Crack eggs into bowl. Place flour and bread crumbs into separate bowls. Scoop golf ball sized rice mixture and form into balls. Poke a small hole and fill with queso fresco. Form rice around it so it does not leak. Roll in flour, then egg and then bread crumbs. Repeat till done.Step 5
Frying – In a deep pot, heat oil over medium heat until oil is 350 degrees. Fry croquettes in batches of 6 at a time until golden brown. It should take about 4 min. Place on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika.Step 6
Sauce – Place ingredients in blender and puree till smooth.
Deep-Fried Chorizo Roll
These incredible bite-sized croquettes are worth the trip to the grocery store. Although they require a bit of patience and time, it’s a perfect opportunity to make this into a family fun activity.
Cooking the ingredients in the chorizo lard will help to give your dish excellent flavor, so make sure to find high-quality Mexican chorizo at your local butcher or specialty stores that serves Chorizo to get the best possible flavor for the entire dish. Spanish Chorizo offers quite a different taste and may cook differently, so you’ll want to stick with Mexican flavors for this recipe. Once you find your go-to chorizo place, try out this Chorizo and Rice Breakfast Scramble or a Rice and Chorizo dish!
To add a more whole grain factor to the recipe, swap in Jasmine Brown Rice for the White Rice.
Break It Down
The process can be split into three different phases.
Making: Cooking the chorizo, rice and veggies to blend all of the savory flavors together.
Chilling: The rice mixture needs time to chill and sit together to not only marinate it more but also so that the rice mixture will stay more compact together.
Frying: Once the mixture has had time to chill, roll out the balls, coat in egg and breadcrumbs and fry.
While your rice mixture is chilling in the refrigerator, use that time to make the avocado dressing!
