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I was very excited the first time I saw croquettes in a menu in a Dublin restaurant. I love them. But it was just an illusion. Potato croquettes?

There is nothing better than a good Croquette with a well made Bechamel. You can find them with all sort of fillings: ham, chicken, Boletus, squid, cheese, black pudding, cod, chorizo…

Using the Bechamel as a base you can play around with your favourite ingredients.

A vital step is making a decent Bechamel. It is not easy to find good croquettes in spanish bars, too much flour and you get soggy croquettes. But several places do a great job, just try to find the good ones.

With this recipe you will make around 60 croquettes. The good thing is you can freeze them. Just take them out of the freezer 3 hours before and fry them in very hot oil.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 litres Whole Milk.
  • 140gr. Plain Flour.
  • 2 table spoons Butter.
  • 3 table spoons Olive Oil.
  • Nutmeg.
  • Black Pepper.
  • Salt.
  • 1 medium Onion.
  • 150gr. Iberico Ham.
  • 100gr. fresh Chantarelles or 40gr. dried Chantarelles.
  • 4 eggs.
  • Breadcrumbs.

Preparation

Finely chop the onion, Iberico Ham and Chantarelles.

Put the milk in a pot and bring to boil.

In a big pan, put the butter and olive oil. Cook the onion until soft.

Add the flour to the pan and constantly stir for a minute. Add the boiling milk. Add a bit of freshly grated Nutmeg and Black Pepper. Cook for 15 minutes stirring with a whisk to make sure the flour dissolves.

While cooking the Bechamel, put in a sauce pan a bit of butter and fry the Iberico Ham and Chanterelles for a couple of minutes. Add them to the Bechamel on the last 5 minutes of cooking. Season.

Put the Bechamel in a oven tray. Cover with cling film. Let it cool down for 1 hour and place in the fridge for at least 5 hours, better overnight.

Now it is time to form the Croquettes.

Prepare a bowl and mix the eggs. Put the breadcrumbs in a plate.  Take small amounts of Bechamel with a spoon. Put some olive oil in your hands and form the Croquettes . Dip them in egg and bater them in breadcrumbs.

Fry them in mild Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil. The oil should be very hot, otherwise they will burst.

Place them in a plate with a paper kitchen towel to absorb the oil excess.

Enjoy them. I am sure you will.