When you are a child, your family is like a fortress, protected from the outside world by this invisible wall of habits and routines. Every day, I left my house in the morning and spent several hours in school with other children who belonged to seemingly similar, but in essence very different tribes. Just because we were inclined to make fun of some teachers, had crushes on the same celebrities, and rehashed the same favorite shows that aired the night before, I assumed they woke up to their clothes lined up on the couch, the hot breakfast waiting at the table, and cafe latte steaming in their favorite cup.
I envied my friends who ran to the corner store during recess and returned with a bag of potato chips or pastel-colored rice puffs. They always shared their loot, but I did not realize at the time that for them that was not a luxurious snack, as I thought, but breakfast and lunch squeezed together into a make-believe package aimed at dulling hunger pangs and providing at least some pretense of nutrition. When I ran into the house, breathless and flushed, Mother was always there, enveloped in a cloud of caramelized onions, sweet roasted peppers, or freshly baked yeast bread. And I assumed, with the innocence only a child can project, that all houses smelled like that in the early afternoon on any given week day.
It did not strike me as odd that my best friend’s mom invariably served roasted chicken with potatoes whenever I visited, and I wondered just a little bit about the reluctance of my friend to even try anything green. Field trips were an absolute adventure, and while I was apprehensive about leaving my comfort zone, at restaurants I felt at home, searching for whatever food was unusual, local, or specific to an area. Fast food was not available in Yugoslavia at the time, and many students around me were in pain, desperately looking for the familiar, and in the end falling back to the good old Wiener Schnitzel with french fries, the meal that is ubiquitously found in any restaurant in any European city.
I learned in time that we were the lucky ones, spoiled by Mother’s creativity at home and Father’s insistence on exposing us to different and strange foods while we traveled. I was not surprised any more when I was the only one approaching the cafeteria line without trepidation and accepting many meals with epicurean joy. I realized that it was the fear of the unknown that prevented my friends from experiencing hundreds of various flavors and I tried to educate, rather than ridicule them.
I understood when they eyed offal with suspicion and made faces when I talked about game meat. It was the simple things that puzzled me, though. I was astonished when a roommate in college made me tea using oregano, and puzzled when my potato croquettes were greeted by raised eyebrows and questioning glances. They were not an exotic fare by any standards, but I found out that what was for us a common and pedestrian food, was, for some, elusive and strange.
Besides throwing fabulous dinner parties that featured many delectable dishes, Mother had a magic touch when it came to reusing leftovers and turning them into something completely different and equally satisfying. She intentionally made more mashed potatoes than we could eat, planning on making šufnudle*, potato dumplings filled with plums, or croquettes. She always enlisted our help since we were in grade school, and we enjoyed rolling the pieces of dough across the table sprinkled with flour or turning over golden brown potato cakes, wary of the hot oil.
Since I met Husband, I taught him hundreds of ways to eat peppers; I made him fall desperately in love with roasted beets; I convinced him that life without sauerkraut would be impossible to imagine; and showed him how to enjoy hundreds of porcine products. He thought I was an Iron Chef when I made crepes and Iles Flotante for the first time, which amused me immensely, as those are desserts that we used to make on the fly, when the guests arrived unexpectedly and you had nothing else in the house but eggs, milk, and flour.
On the other hand, he tried to warm me up to the idea of accepting squirrels, opossums, and muskrats as worthy victuals, and taught me how to make beautiful, nutty chocolate-colored roux for a gumbo. And when I made potato croquettes for the first time, he squealed in joy, finding the first example of comfort food that connected our so different childhoods.
We really had nothing in common when we were growing up, separated not only by the huge expanse of the Atlantic and several formidable mountain ranges, but by the approaches our mothers had to cooking and feeding their families. I was definitely the luckier of the two, and it made me happy that I could dig up something from my warm, Serbian kitchen that he recognized from growing up in the American South.
Just like Mother, I make extra mashed potatoes on purpose, wanting to make the dumplings for dinner or croquettes as a side or a welcome, warm after school snack. As I watch my girls devour them bite by bite without thinking, I chuckle, knowing that the fortress is slowly crumbling and that they are about to discover worlds completely different from their own. I hope they enjoy the process of conquering the new roads as much as I did, one delightful morsel at a time.
*šufnudle (schupfnudeln), German potato dumplings similar to Italian gnocchi, but shaped like fingers, rather than little pillows; we ate them with lots of caramelized onions or sweetened by brown bread crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon.
POTATO CROQUETTES (KROKETI OD KROMPIRA)
I serve these as a side dish with any roasts or stews. They are a great accompaniment to a goulash made with wild game. Easy and fast to make, they are perfect for quick lunch or a snack and go really well with an ice cold beer
Ingredients:
- 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes (you can boil and mash potatoes just for the croquettes; in that case, do not add milk or butter)
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour (you might need a bit more or less, depending on the consistency of your potatoes)
- sunflower oil for pan-frying, enough to cover the bottom of the pan by about ½ inch
Direction:
Place the potatoes in a bowl and add egg and salt. Mix in most of the flour until combined. The batter should be soft and sticky (if it is just a bit runny it’s fine, as you will use the spoon to scoop it out).
Heat the oil in a sauté pan on medium temperature. When it gets hot, scoop a spoonful of batter and place it carefully in the oil. If your batter is thicker, you might need to flatten it a bit with the back of your spoon. Cook for 2 minutes, until golden brown and turn. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, until done. Place the croquettes on a plate lined with paper towels and let cool.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Last year: Dorie Greenspan’s Green Beans with Pancetta
Is this maybe a truly universal dish? I also have this growing up in Chile. For especial occasions my mothers would fill it with a nice mild cheese like Havarti or with a pino (beef meat and onions)
I still love this plate so simple.
My house was very much like yours full of food, and very forward thinking for the time, my mothers was into thai food, beside the classic french, and we lived on the country side!
Čitam i kao da čitam priču svog detinjstva. Tata je imao prekomandu u Split pa su nam lignje i morska stvorenja bila na stolu, a kasnije Amerika kada je mama imala dane u nedelji kada sprema hranu iz određene zemlje. Dva dana za Srbiju, pa dan za američku kuhinju, pa kinesku, mekičku, internacionalnu i tako redom. No, ne mislim da ljudi nisu bili izloženi raznovrsnom meniju kao mali iz straha roditelja da probaju nešto novo. Baš smo skoro pričali i na kraju došli do zaključka da na žalost mnoge majke ne kuvaju deci, jer su lenje, jednostavno lenje, pa deca jedu šta stignu. Znam takve primere. Nije da deca neće da okuse ništa novo, već nemaju priliku od sve te kupovne hrane. Na krajau sam došla do zaključka da mnogi više cene da im izneseš kuppvo nego da umesiš nešto. Sećam se kako se drugarica u srednjoj školi začudila kako mene svaki dan čeka ručak posle škole i pre škole kad mama ide u popodnevnu smenu a ja popodne u školu. Meni je to normalno, kao što mi je normalno da spremim hranu za goste, a ne da je kupim. Ljudi su jednostavno lenji, a deca kao deca stvaraju navike. Oni koji nemaju su mnogo inventivniji u ishrani, a deci ne kupuju čips i smoki.
Master Chef, e baš si me nasmejala. Kad sam davno guglala šnenokle smejala sam se pet minuta kakvo egzotično ime imaju, a kod nas se šnenokle, i palačinke i ne računaju u poslasticu. Tek kad vidim svetske poslastice i sva ta egzotična francuska imena zavrti mi se u glavi. Kod mene je krem za palačinke običan žuti krem i tačka, nema tu filozofije. Suprug mi prebacje šta sad to izmišljam sa tartevima i istražujem svetke kuhinje kad su naše torte i kolači vrhunski.
So beautifully written! I love discovering and understanding your unique perspective.
Slazem se sa Jeleninim komentarom. Secam se kad su jednom kod nas bili rodjaci iz okoline Kragujevca. Ja sam se potrudila da za njihove klince napravim mafine sa sargarepom, a oni su samo rekli da oni to nece, da vole samo kupovne kroasane. Nisam mogla verovati! I ta deca nisu nista okusila sto je moja mama napravila za rucak… Mene nikako ne mrzi da svom detetu skuvam nesto i ukusno i zdravo…
Odlican post!
Odlican post.
Being Scottish it is only natural that I love potatoes, no dinner was really complete without them. I think always good to cook a few too many, extra boiled potatoes would be sliced and fried but my favourite would be when Dad turned them in to potato scones, mashed with a little flour, butter & an egg, rolled out, cut in to triangles, fried on a griddle,eaten hot dripping in melted butter…yum! So very like these but less of a batter. So these would be right up there with my ultimate comfort foods:) A good reminder to always make a few extra spuds!
Your young days are admirable. Your mom is amazing. And these potatoes are interesting, will try them out soon enough
These look delicious! I’ve had something similar filled with meat, but plain and simple sounds awesome too! And what a great way to use up leftovers
Lana, your croquettes are making me hungry. I can see how fried mashed potatoes are a universally pleasing dish. It’s truly an art to turn leftovers into another star dish. Definitely a skill I need to improve.
If only more children got to have your kind of an upbringing. What a privilege. Your croquettes look delicious. I know I could eat so many of these in just one sitting.
You had me at the title, absolutely. GREG
Pošla mi voda na usta od vidjenog na prvoj slici. Kako volim sve krompir varijante testa…
I always feel like I step into your past and experience another lifetime that I feel is my own. Thanks for the wonderful journey. I am enjoying every step of it.
@Pilar, we always had these just plain, but I can imagine how wonderful they would be filled with cheese or your meat mixture:)
@Jelena, ja ponekad zaboravim da moja porodica nije bila tipična, kao što ni ova sad ovde nije:) NIkad nije prestalo da mi bude smešno kad se ljudi oduševljavaju kad napravim nešto “from scratch”. Sad sam počela samo da se smeškam i zahvaljujem, bez objašnjenja kako je lako.
@Wendy, thank you for your kind words. It makes me feel good when I can touch anyone with my stories.
@Milkiice, mene takvi slučajevi, pogotovo u našim predelima, zaprepašćuju, jer ih ima sve više i više. Ono što je spremljeno kod kuće se nipodaštava, a hrana sa kioska izdiže. Smešno.
@Hvala, Gordana:)
@Mairi, your dad’s scones sound great, and probably a bit healthier as they are cooked on the griddle (we won’t count the melting butter:)
@Jesica, thanks so much for your sweet comment:)
@Megan, another commenter said that she had something similar to these, but filled with meat, when she was growing up in Chile. And now I am intrigued:)
@Gloria, mashed potatoes are good any way you take them – I have to try to bake bread with them one of these days. And reusing leftovers and turning them into something different is a challenge I can’t resist:)
@Charlie Louie, I am trying to keep those traditions alive in my house and treat my girls to lovingly prepared home-cooked meals. Let’s keep it rolling down the family tree:)
@Greg, it is like a special geek handshake:)
@Majo, nisam se mnogo baktala sa krompir’testom, osim sa njokama i kroketima, ali bih volela da bar malo još uznapredujem:)
@Cathy, your comments are always so thoughtful:) Thanks for making me smile!
smart woman, that mom of yours! To have delicious food ready when you came home from school. I do this with dinner, but not snacks. I’m taking notes. Thanks Lana!
I am trying to be diligent and make snacks for my kids after school. In fact, there is no reason why we eat at 6.00, when I can make dinner at 4.00 and avoid the snack altogether:)