I discovered fish croquettes quite by accident when I had leftover cooked cod from Friday night dinner. My grandmother always said waste nothing, and those leftover flakes of fish sitting in my fridge were practically begging to be transformed into something special. Croquettes might sound fancy, but they're really just elevated fish cakes that happen to be incredibly satisfying. The key difference is in the technique: you bind the fish with a thick béchamel-style sauce instead of just breadcrumbs and egg. This creates a creamy interior that contrasts beautifully with the crispy coating. I use a combination of cod and tilapia because the cod gives you those lovely flakes while the tilapia adds moisture and helps everything hold together. The secret to getting them perfectly crispy without deep frying is a two-step coating process and a very hot oven. I coat each croquette in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs mixed with regular breadcrumbs. The panko gives you that restaurant-quality crunch. And here's something I learned the hard way: make sure your oven is fully preheated to 425°F before the croquettes go in. That initial blast of heat is what creates the golden exterior. These work wonderfully as an appetizer for Shabbat or as a light dinner with a simple green salad. The homemade tartar sauce takes maybe five minutes to whip together and tastes infinitely better than store-bought. My kids actually request these now, which says something because they're usually suspicious of anything that looks too fancy.