If there’s something that I love to order to start off a night it’s serrano ham croquetas. They’re SO good! They’re crispy on the outside and super smooth and creamy on the inside. They’re not at all complicated to make and are absolutely delicious.
If you want to change the filling you can also use chopped sautéed mushrooms or even cooked and really well squeezed spinach. The texture of course will always remain as yummy 🙂
It took me a couple of tries to get the perfect texture in the interior and I have to say I love how they turned out. They’re really tasty too because it’s not all in the texture 🙂
When it comes to the frying oil you have to take two things into consideration. The first is that deep frying is always dangerous. Keep kids away from the pot as well as any liquids that might drop into the oil. Never overfill the pot with croquetas either because the oil could spatter too much. The other thing you need to consider is that you can pass the oil through a colander once it has cooled down to reuse. If you don’t want to reuse it remember that you must dispose of it in the garbage rather than down the drain because it does a lot of harm to water bodies.
Ingredients
For the bechamel sauce
- 400 ml milk
- 70 g serrano ham without the excess fat
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 onion (40g approx) cut in small cubes
- 1 garlic clove finely grated or minced
- 60 g all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp ground or grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50 g manchego cheese, freshly grated
For the breading and frying
- 100 g all purpose flour
- 2 eggs + 2 tsp water
- 100 g breadcrumbs
- 500-1000 ml vegetable oil for frying enough so the croquetas can be fully submerged
Instructions
For the bechamel
- Chop the serrano ham in cubes and cook it in the milk on medium heat for about 3min from the point where it starts steaming.
- Cook the onion in a bit of the olive oil from the recipe over medium-low heat until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds. Don't let it become golden.
- Add the rest of the olive oil, salt, nutmeg and flour and mix using a whisk over medium heat.
- Cook the mix for a minute from the moment it starts boiling.
- Turn the heat off and add the milk little by little and whisking in between to make sure no lumps form.
- Once all the milk has been incorporated return to a medium heat and whisk constantly until it starts boiling.
- Add the manchego cheese and mix.
- Transfer to a container and cover with cling film. Make sure the cling film touches the surface of the bechamel sauce so a skin doesn't form.
- Once cooled to room temperature take to the fridge for at least 2 hours and a maximum of 4 days.
For the breading and frying
- Prepare 3 bowls: one with flour, the other with egg and water whisked together and the last one with breadcrumbs.
- Make ovals or balls on your hands and pass through the flour, always removing the excess. Make this with all of them first so you don't bread your hands.
- Then pass through the egg using always the same hand and make sure the excess drips off.
- Finally pass through the breadcrumbs with the other hand always.
- Heat the oil over medium heat, it should bubble when the croquetas go in.
- Fry until golden and serve immediately.
