Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Some old school, basic methods of cooking, from back in the day when I first worked in a commercial kitchen washing dishes after school, are still in use today – but a lot has changed.

For example, all of the head chefs in large hotels were foreign and most of the menus were heavily influenced by traditional French cooking methods.

Three decades ago I worked at a large international hotel in Christchurch, desperate for an apprenticeship as a chef, so I washed every dish in the hotel at least 10 times in the year I was there.

Along the way I picked up tips and tricks off the chefs who worked there, some good and some bad, and I often wondered about using ingredients such as large sacks full of instant potato mix to make potato croquettes.

That was only the tip of the ice berg, as packets for making this and that were explained to me.

Even back then there were pre-mixes for a lot of menu items, my confidence took a blow as I began to question what sort of profession I had got myself into?

To cut a long story short, I took a break from cooking and went psychiatric nursing instead.

Of course that didn't last and I returned to cooking.

This week's dish is a simple easy kumara, ham and cheese croquette: great for a starter or party snack.

Kumara cheese and ham croquette

Makes 15-20

Ingredients
1.5kg peeled kumara
200g shaved ham, sliced small
200g diced tasty cheese
1Tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Method

Cover kumara with salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until just soft enough to mash.

Mash well, cool slightly and add ham, parsley, and cheese, season well.

Fashion the mixture into a log shape and dust in flour, then place in the freezer to chill down.

Once the logs are firm, cut into shapes and dust in more flour. Dip into a mix of milk and beaten eggs, and then into the panko crumbs.

Allow the croquettes to set again in fridge.

Once set, shallow or deep fry until golden brown, and serve with cranberry or plum dipping sauce.