Croquette is one of those curious dishes that seem genuinely Spanish, with popular roots and a homely and familiar character, but which is also reinvented and dressed up in luxury at the best tables. One way to decorate the increasingly fashionable croquettes is crown them with some finish or topping to elevate this sublime bite even more, an easy practice to replicate at home.
Gastronomy is inevitably moved by trends that sometimes we don’t really know where they come from, but that without realizing it invade the culinary proposals of the so-called fashionable venues – or that pretend to be so. This is what has happened with the croquettes panorama of gastrobars, gastrotabernas, tascobares, foodbars and other names that often sin of pretentiousness also in their letters, not very original.
What seems like a novelty one day becomes the norm, being cloned in all kinds of places, as happened with the tataki, the ceviche, the bao bread or the stuffed brioche, not to mention the scattered cheese cake (the new coulant). The croquette seemed to survive but now it is updated not only with more or less original fillings, the fashion is in culminating them with some extra ingredient or product.
As sometimes it seems that they charge you a kidney just to put a glob of sauce on some standard croquettes lavishly presented on uncomfortable dishes, we take the snack home with our favorite croquettes recipes and suggestions to crown them. We can all join the fashions gastro in our own kitchen.
Ham croquettes with a veil of dewlap or Iberian bacon
The Iberian veil is a common ingredient in many restaurant dishes with which preparations such as artichokes, stuffed pasta, seafood, poached eggs or mushrooms are finished. It is called like this because it is a very thin sheet of pork fat cured or marinated, translucent, which melts slightly with the heat of the dish creating a buttery finish with an intense and aromatic flavor.
Iberian pork dewlap is another product fine and juicy than bacon, but both can be used for practically the same thing. A perfect complement to the classic ham croquettes, thus further enhancing the Iberian character of this bite. And if we don’t have any of these products on hand, a good slice of ham will also be welcome.
- Ingredients. 600 ml of milk, 1 heaping tablespoon of butter, 1 heaping tablespoon of flour, 100 g of minced Iberian ham, 2 chopped boiled eggs (optional), flour, 2 beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and oil for frying.
- Elaboration. We put the butter and flour in the pan and as soon as the first one melts, we stir and add half of the ham. We are adding the milk in streams, letting the dough absorb it before adding more. As the bechamel thickens and we finish adding all the milk, we taste the salt and add only if necessary. We add the rest of the ham and the optional hard-boiled egg. We take out the bechamel and let it cool in a source, covering it with a kitchen film so that it does not crust over. Chill in the fridge for a few hours, form the croquettes and wrap them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, frying them in batches of four or five croquettes in very hot oil.
Complete recipe | Iberian ham and hard-boiled egg croquettes
Squid croquettes in its ink with aioli
Striking for its black color and also with a powerful flavor, squid or squid croquettes in their ink do not leave indifferent and are one of our favorites when we search marine flavors in this bite. Nothing better than the classic aioli or garlic oil sauce to finish them off, adding some herbs that provide freshness and color, such as chives or curly parsley. You can also make the aioli without eggs or use a softer mayonnaise.
Ingredients. 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 1 clean squid of about 500 g (from which we will have saved the ink), very thick béchamel sauce, salt, ground black pepper, flour, 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and oil for frying.
Elaboration. We start by mincing the onion, the pepper and chopping the squid small. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and brown the onion until transparent. We add the pepper and when it is all tied we add the chopped squid and we give it a few turns until it is done. Add the squid ink to the béchamel sauce and then add it to the previous sauce. Rectify with salt and pepper, stir well and reserve in the fridge for at least one hour, so that the dough hardens. Then we take it out and form the croquettes. We pass them through flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs and fry them in plenty of hot oil.
Complete recipe | Squid croquettes in their ink
Liquid cheese croquettes with quince paste
As striking as they are exquisite, our version of liquid croquettes is perfect to leave diners with their mouths open, warning them, yes, that they must eat whole in one bite, because they explode in the mouth with their incredible filling. The texture and intensity of the cheese inspires us to finish them off with a piece of homemade quince paste, which will also melt in the mouth with that inner liquid heart, creating a festivals of flavors on the palate.
Ingredients. 40 g of butter, 30 g of wheat flour, 500 ml of semi-skimmed milk, 6 gelatin sheets, 80 g of chopped gorgonzola or other blue cheese, salt, ground white pepper, 50 g of wheat flour, 3 eggs, 250 g of breadcrumbs, sunflower oil for frying.
Elaboration. Hydrate the gelatin in plenty of cold water for at least ten minutes. We prepare a very clear and fluid bechamel. Heat the butter and add the flour, stir for a couple of minutes. Add the milk little by little and stir with a few rods. Cook the flour for 15 minutes, adding the cheese halfway through cooking and stirring. Salt and pepper and turn off. We drain the gelatin and add it to the saucepan, stirring well. We pour the dough into a source and let it cool before going to the fridge until the next day or a minimum of 10 hours. A couple of hours before we want to serve them, we remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into small bite-sized cubes. We bathe in a double breading. We pass each cube through flour (removing the excess), beaten egg, breadcrumbs, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. We put them in the fridge for an hour to solidify a little. When the time comes, heat plenty of oil in a frying pan and fry the croquettes two by two over very high heat (200ºC). Let the croquettes drain on absorbent paper before serving.
Complete recipe | Liquid croquettes that explode in your mouth
Salmon croquettes with guacamole and roe
Salmon and avocado they pair perfectly, as recipes such as tartare, sushi, toasts or appetizers demonstrate, either with the fresh or smoked product. So the option to top some croquettes made with this healthy fish was clear, a good homemade guacamole that we can also enhance more with some roe of it (ikura in Japanese) or vegetable spherifications. The well seasoned guacamole it will add a fresher touch to the smoothness of the croquette.
Ingredients. 50 g of extra virgin olive oil, 400 g of fresh salmon without skin or bones and shredded, 1 tablet of shredded fish stock, 100 g of butter, 30 g of chopped onion, 170 g of flour, 800 g of milk a room temperature, ground nutmeg, ground black pepper, salt, 2 beaten eggs, 200 g of breadcrumbs and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
Elaboration. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the salmon with the stock cube. We drain the salmon and save the liquid. In the same pan, heat the butter and fry the onion. Add the cooking liquid, the salmon and the flour and let it cook a little, being careful not to burn it. Add the milk, nutmeg, pepper and salt and stir until there is a thick dough without lumps. Add the salmon and stir. We put the dough in a bowl and let it cool. Afterwards, we reserve it in the refrigerator for a minimum of eight hours. We form the croquettes and pass them through the beaten egg first and then through the breadcrumbs. We fry them in plenty of hot oil and let them drain on kitchen paper.
Cooked croquettes, tripe or stew with sausage hummus
Spoon stews with sausages, meats and legumes give rise to leftovers that are almost liked more than the dish itself. The so-called old cooked clothes is a delicacy that we can take advantage of to make delicious croquettes by cooking the meats with a little onion and adding the béchamel sauce, also using the broth. The same idea can be applied to some tripe or an Andalusian stew, set the chickpeas aside for hummus enriched with chorizo, blood sausage or sausage to top each croquette.
Ingredients. 450 g of stewed tripe or stewed or stewed meats, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce or fried tomato, 120 g of butter, 145 g of flour, 800 ml of milk, fried corn chips or coarse breadcrumbs, beaten egg, oil for frying, 200 g of cooked chickpeas, 100 ml of broth, sweet paprika, hot sauce (optional) to taste, 1 clove of garlic, 80 g of fresh chorizo or other uncured sausage.
Elaboration. We separate the tripe or meats of the stew from its sauce with a strainer. We chop the tripe or meats into pieces. We make a roux with the butter and the flour and half of the chopped tripe, and we are adding the milk to prepare a béchamel sauce. We add a tablespoon of paprika and the tomato. Add the tripe sauce and continue stirring and working the béchamel well, rectifying the salt. Add the rest of the tripe, cooking another 20 minutes without stopping stirring. Adjust salt and spice and let the dough rest in a bowl for 6 hours. We form the tripe croquettes by wrapping them in beaten egg and crushed corn chips, and fry them in very hot olive oil. To make the hummus, we grind the chickpeas, garlic, chorizo and a tablespoon of paprika in a food processor, adjusting the texture with a little chicken broth. We pass it through a fine sieve.
Complete recipe | Tripe croquettes with chorizo hummus
Photos | iStock
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