Columbia Restaurant`s Ybor City Deviled Crab Rolls Recipe

(As sold on the streets of Tampa's Latin Quarter.) This recipe is from the Columbia Restaurant, Tampa, Florida.

About 4 hours before serving, make dough: break white bread into pieces; place in a large bowl, cover with water, soak 15 minutes. Drain water and squeeze soaked bread until almost dry; return to bowl. Gradually add sifted Cuban bread until mixture reaches dough consistency. Add paprika and salt, mix thoroughly. Form dough into ball, refrigerate about 2 hours.

Make filling: Heat olive oil in large skillet, heat to low. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and hot pepper, saute very slowly 15 minutes. Add bay leaves, sugar, salt and tomato paste; stir. cook uncovered 10 minutes, remove bay leaves. Place mixture on platter, refrigerate 2 hours.

After dough and filling have chilled, make croquettes: With your hands, take about 3 Tbsp bread dough, press, add 1 Tbsp crab filling, seal dough around filling like a croquette with pointed ends. In a small bowl mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. In another bowl mix cracker crumbs and flour. Roll croquettes first into cracker mixture then into egg mixture then into cracker mixture again. Refrigerate 2 hours. When ready to cook: heat oil in deep heavy saucepan or a deep fryer. Place croquettes a few at a time in the hot oil, fry until light brown.