Serrano Ham Croquettes

Summer is here! Or so it seems. We’ll still bet that the nice days will come back. So I am happy to continue my partnership with Alvalle until the end of August. My job? Propose eight recipes to accompany a product from their range. I’ve been keeping with the Hispanic theme from the beginning. So today, the famous “croquetas”, these small croquettes all crunchy and creamy inside. You can’t go to Spain without seeing them! A little wonder, especially with Serrano ham inside. With a delicious Alvalle Green Gazpacho, it will give us all the energy we need for a complete meal. For those who like to eat, this can be enjoyed as an aperitif, serving small croquettes and small glasses of Green Gazpacho!

Just a quick note about the kibble. I didn’t understand at the time how they managed to make little doughnuts with such a creamy interior. The result is so good! In fact, it is nothing more or less than a kind of bechamel in a doughnut. So how does it work?  It’s actually quite simple and ingenious: we prepare a thick béchamel sauce (with the ham and onions in it!) which we then let cool. It then becomes manipulable and you can form croquettes with flour, eggs and flour. When you fry, the béchamel inside becomes creamy again! That’s it! Easy, right?

Recipe for Serrano ham croquettes:

-a brick of Alvalle Green Gazpacho

-50g of olive oil

-1 onion or two small shallots

-1 clove of garlic

-100g of Serrano ham

-60g of flour

-500ml of semi-skimmed milk

-salt pepper

-nutmeg

-1 half cube of poultry or vegetable stock

-Flour to form the croquettes

-chapelure

-2 eggs

-olive oil for frying

Prepare the ingredients! 

Simply peel the onion (or shallots) and chop them very finely. You can even blend them quickly (not too much to avoid a fine purée). 

Put 50g of olive oil in a pan, heat and adjust the onions and crushed garlic.

You can either chop the ham very finely or blend it as well. 

Add to onions. 

Let simmer and brown. 

Add the broth, crush it into powder with the spoon. 

Add the 60g of flour at once. 

Mix well and cook like a roux (the base of a béchamel sauce).

When the mixture comes off the bottom of the pan, add a little milk (out of the 500ml).

We obtain a paste. 

Then add the milk in the same way, little by little, to avoid the formation of lumps. 

Add salt and pepper. 

Nutmeg. 

Let cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often. The cream thickens a lot. 

Pour into a dish and let cool. Set aside in a cool place for at least one hour. 

When the dough is cold, flour a work surface and pour in half of the filling.

The dough is very soft, so you need a gentle touch! Roll in flour into a 3 cm diameter sausage. 

Then cut into 25g portions. 

Beat one or two eggs on a plate. Dip the croquettes and roll them in it. 

Then in the breadcrumbs. 

Do the same with all the stuffing. 

Put olive oil in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, fry the croquettes.

Remove and let rest for a few moments on an absorbent paper . 

When you bite into it, you see the creamy stuffing. 

With an Alvalle Green Gazpacho, it is an ideal accompaniment!