Leftovers, done right

I was trying to think of something different than the usual pasta/pizza/wraps to make with leftover chicken from the bird I roasted yesterday and came up with croquettes. I didn’t really feel like serving them with veloute or gravy, and was rummaging around in my fridge when I came across some sour cream that needed to be used up. That inspired me to make the croquettes a little tex-mexy in nature.

These were really good. I just took the basic idea of the croquette and added a roasted poblano and some chili powder/cumin. I’ve had a recipe for chipotle chicken taco salad from Cooking Light saved to try for a while now, so I stole their idea for the dressing and used that to top my croquettes, which I decided to serve over a black bean/corn saute.

Chicken Croquettes
Makes about 6 croquettes

1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 heaping Tbsp. sour cream
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
1 cup cooked chicken, finely chopped/shredded
cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
flour, for dredging
1 egg, beaten
breadcrumbs or panko, for dredging
canola oil
sour cream-chipotle dressing for topping

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and make a roux. Slowly add the chicken stock and whisk until thickened. Off the heat, stir in the sour cream. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in a little canola oil or some cooking spray until tender. Add the chicken, poblano and the seasonings, Stir for a couple minutes so the flavors can mingle. Season to taste. Combine the stock sauce with the chicken mixture. Refrigerate for an hour or longer.

Form the mixture into patties. Dredge the patties first in flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the panko or breadcrumbs. Heat canola oil in a skillet (I use nonstick so I can use less oil) and pan fry the croquettes a couple minutes per side, or until nicely browned and crisp.

As for the bed of black beans/corn/pepper stuff (and yes, that is the technical, culinary term), I just sauted a diced onion, a cup of pepper strips and 2 cloves of garlic in a little canola oil. To that, I added a can of drained/rinsed black beans, about 1/2 cup of salsa and another 1/2 cup of corn. Seasoned it to taste with some cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper.