Macaroni and almond croquettes with raspberries

Serves 4

I came across this in Alexis Soyer's book, The Modern Housewife or Menagère, written in 1849 and full of recipes for breakfasts and entrées, as well as household management advice.

As well as these macaroni croquettes there are others made with rice. They contain eggs to thicken, but in those days no cream.

80g macaroni
Half vanilla pod, split lengthways
500g milk
80g caster sugar
200ml double cream
2 egg yolks
Oil for deep frying

for the coating

3tbsp flour
Whites from the 2 eggs, briefly beaten with a couple of teaspoons of water
30g ground almonds mixed with 30g flaked almonds (broken into pieces)

for the sauce

150g raspberries
60g sugar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain, cool a little and chop into smaller pieces. Put them in a pan with the milk and vanilla and simmer for about 30-40 minutes until tender, stirring every so often so that they don't stick to the bottom. Add the cream and sugar and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced and made a thick sauce that just coats the macaroni.

Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, then return to a low heat for a minute or so, stirring until the sauce thickens again. Remove from the heat and transfer to a shallow container or dish. Leave to cool then cover and leave in the fridge overnight to set.

Meanwhile make the sauce: put the sugar in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and stir on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and blend with 50g of the raspberries to a smooth purée then strain or keep as it is.

With a dessert spoon, scoop out nuggets of the macaroni mixture. Carefully put them through the flour shaking off any excess, then through the egg white and finally through the almond mixture.

Pre-heat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or deep fat fryer. Fry the croquettes in two or three batches for 2-4 minutes until golden, then drain on some kitchen paper and dust with icing sugar. To serve, spoon some sauce into coupes or large glasses, arrange the croquettes and raspberries inside and spoon more sauce in. You could also serve ice cream with this.