The Dish: Veggie Croquettes

On April 22, more than 1 billion people around the globe will celebrate Earth Day and 7's Dylan Dreyer is doing her part. She's cooking up a healthy vegetable pocket packed with Mother Nature's best ingredients.

Veggie Croquettes         

Ingredients:

-2 lbs. potatoes
-3/4 lbs. rough chopped cauliflower
-1 cup shredded carrots
-1/3 cup chopped parsley
-3 eggs 
-3 tbsp cream
-1 cup panko
-1/2 tsp ground allspice
-1 tsp granulated onion
-1 tsp granulated garlic
-1 tbsp salt
-neutral-flavored oil for deep frying

Ingredients for dipping sauce:

-1 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade, but Hellman's works fine)
-2 tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili paste found in any Asian supermarket or ethnic section of the supermarket)
-2 tsp granulated garlic  

Directions for Croquettes:

1. Peel potatoes, cut them in eighths, and cook in boiling salted water until fork tender, roughly 10-15 minutes. Strain. Mash potatoes with masher. Set aside in large mixing bowl.
2. Blanch cauliflower for a few minutes until al dente. Strain. Combine with potatoes.
3. Combine all other ingredients with potatoes and cauliflower. Mix well.
4. Heat oil to 350 degrees for deep frying. For safety reasons, make sure oil does not exceed half-way level in pot.
5. Using 2 oz ice cream scoop (or something comparable), scoop balls of mixture into oil. Cook for roughly 3 minutes, or golden brown. Cook in small batches. Be sure not to overcrowd pot.

Directions for Samurai dipping sauce:

1. Combine all ingredients from above and mix well.

Enjoy!