St. Scallop Croquetas

This recipe happened one afternoon when my Basque friend was making an appetizer of Spanish croquetas and I was getting all the ingredients ready for the Coquilles St. Jacques I was making after we ate the croquetas. So I suggested we substitute some of the ingredients I had for the ones he was using for a part of the recipe for a change and guess what, they were really good! So here is what we got when mixing French scallops with Spanish croquetas.

½ cup diced mushrooms

1 teaspoon butter

½ pound bay scallops, slightly chopped

2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 eggs, separated

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup soft bread crumbs

2 tablespoons flour

1 whole egg

1 tablespoon of milk

½ cup flour

½ cup crisp bread crumbs

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons butter

Cook diced mushrooms in butter until they sweat out all liquid. Drain the mushrooms on paper towels. Mix mushrooms with scallops, diced onion, salt, pepper, paprika, softened butter mixed with lemon juice,  2 tablespoons flour, cheese, ¼ cup bread crumbs and the 2 egg yolks. Beat the 2 egg whites and fold it into the scallop mixture. If the batter seems too dry add just a little milk. Using a heaping teaspoon to control size form croquettes by placing the batter on a piece of waxed paper and using the paper roll the batter into a ball shape. When all of the croquettes are formed into balls refrigerate them for about 1 hour. Then take them out and roll in flour, then dip them in egg wash and then roll in bread crumbs. Fry in medium-hot oil and butter until golden brown on all sides, do not overcrowd pan. Keep finished croquettes warm in oven while cooking the rest.