Croquetas De Jamón Serrano

with simple Romesco

I really don’t know if these croquetas/croquettes are in any way authentic but I know they taste quite good. I find it hard to be authentic to other peoples perception of a dish now that I’ve been cooking for so long. To me, not allowing yourself to put a you own personal spin on something goes against cooking. I looked at recipes for this to begin my own research and always found something I wanted to do differently.

My own voice in the kitchen is starting to emerge after many years and I can finally see more of me in the dishes I cook. When you look at a recipe, always think of ways it can fit your taste better. Whether that is omitting or adding, try it. The person writing the recipe either made it to fit everyone’s taste (which is impossible/boring) or they made it to fit their taste (which is limited and subjective). So you have all the room in the world to put your signature on any dish. Even this one…

I recommend watching my short instagram video on making these to get a sense of the movements, what things should look like.

Ingredients

For the Croquetas

3oz Jamón Serrano or cured ham of choice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 bunch scallions, whites and greens separated

5 tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 cup (115g) AP flour

3 cups (750g) whole milk

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

For breading & frying

2 cups AP Flour

3 eggs

2 cups fine breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil, for frying

For the Romesco Sauce

4 roma tomatoes, halved and cored

1 head of garlic, peeled

Extra virgin olive oil

4 dried smokey peppers (I used Poblano) seeded, destemmed, and rehydrated in hot water for 30 minutes

1/2 cups unsalted raw almonds

1 roasted red bell pepper

2 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Make the croquetas mixture:

In a large high-walled sauté pan, add olive oil and fry the Jamón for 3-4 minutes until lightly crisp. Finely chop and set aside. In the same pan, sauté onions and scallion whites over medium high. Add a small pinch of salt and a few twists of freshly ground pepper. 8-10 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent. Add milk to a small saucepan and heat until barely simmering.

Add butter to pan with the onions and melt fully. Add flour all at once and use a wooden spoon and stir to combine. Do not panic here. It will be very clumpy and that’s what we want! This is going to be a thick béchamel. Continue to cook the roux mixture over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until slightly toasty and blonde but not brown. You do not want to burn this roux.

Make the béchamel. Switch to a medium whisk. Begin adding the hot milk and, one ladle at a time, continuously stir until incorporating into the flour. The onions in it will make it look clumpy but don’t worry, just keep whisking until all the milk is used. Once all the milk is added, continue to cook the mixture for 15 minutes until. The resulting béchamel should be thick and paste-like. Add scallion greens, chopped Jamón Serrano, nutmeg, pepper, and salt to taste. Please taste your mixture at this point to make sure it’s seasoned well! Place in an 8x8 heatproof dish and cover with plastic wrap, placing directly on the béchamel. It will continue to firm when it cools.

Let cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.

Make the Romesco sauce:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place tomatoes cut side down and garlic on the tray. Lightly oil the tomatoes and garlic and roast for 20-30 minutes or until skins are blistered and tomatoes are soft.

Combine all the ingredients for the romesco in a blender and blend on medium, increasing power slowly until fully smooth. Add salt and pepper, a little at a time and taste to adjust to your liking. If you want it brighter, add another teaspoon of vinegar. this recipe makes about 1.5 cups so you will have leftover. But spread it on sandwiches or as a dip for pita. Very versatile.

Shape and bread the croquetas:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once cooled and firm enough to begin rolling. Take about two tablespoons of the mixture and roll into a ball with your hands. Then lightly form into a small log, two inches long, and place on your prepared sheet. Shapes are really up to you. This recipe yields about 24 croquetas. Place into the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.

Set up your breading station. One tray flour, one tray beaten eggs, one tray breadcrumbs and a tray to place the breaded croquetas. Remove croquetas from the freezer. First into the flour, coating completely. Then into the eggs, coating completely. Then into the breadcrumbs, coating completely. Repeat until all the croquetas are breaded. Place in fridge until ready to fry.

Breading and frying the croquetas.

Bring two inches or vegetable oil to 350 degrees in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan. 3-4 at a time, fry the croquetas until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Once fried, using a spider, evacuate onto a paper towel lines wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt immediately after they come out of the fryer. Finish with the rest of the croquetas.

Serve with romesco and enjoy!!!

You’re the best.