Spanish Croquettes Recipe
When talking about Spain or Spanish cuisine, probably paella is the first dish that comes to mind. But interestingly it is not the most eaten dish by Spaniards, but croquettes are. Paella is a main dish, so you have to go to a decent restaurant to eat a good paella. On the other hand croquettes are tapas which you can find in almost every bar in Spain and which goes well with both wine and beer. So if your are grabbing a drink with chicos croquettes are one of the best choices as tapas.
I loved croquettes when I first tried them. It was crunchy outside and melting inside (which I thought as cheese). After I looked for croquette recipe I realized and a little bit disappointed that it was not cheese but bechamel.
You can find lots of different versions of croquettes in Spain. The most common ones are plain, jamon, chicken and tuna croquettes. In my recipe I used Turkish pastırma. But you can use bacon or jamon, tuna or chicken or not use any of them.
Preparing the croquettes is really easy but cooking is a little bit tricky. You should frequently turn them upside down. Because if you don't, they with burst. With bursting I don't mean a small cack or something. When a croquette bursts, it really good. All the bechamel sauce comes out and you are left with a plain croquette crust. So you should not let them to cook one side more than the other. All sides of them should bee fried equally.
Enjoy the recipe...
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped,
- 2 tablespoons butter,
- 4 tablespoons flour,
- 500 ml milk,
- 1 handful of chopped parsley,
- 3 slices of pastırma,
- Salt,
- Black pepper,
- Grated nutmeg,
- 2 eggs,
- 1/2 cup of cornstarch,
- 1 cup of bread crumbs,
- Vegetable oil to fry.
Preparation
- Melt the butter, add into the onion and cook until tender,
- Add into the flour and sautée for a few mins.,
- Add into the milk and mix until no lumps,
- Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, stir,
- Cook in low heat for 10-15 mins, continuously stirring,
- Add chopped pastırma and parsley, stir and remove from heat,
- Por the mixture into a large baking dish, set aside until it comes at room temperature,
- Cover with a plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for 2 hours,
- Make small balls from the mixture,
- First cover with cornstarch, then beaten egg and at last with breadcrumbs,
- Heat oil in a deep pan and fry croquettes turning upside down frequently.
Bon appetit...