The following post was originally featured on Analida's Ethnic Spoon and written by Analida Braeger,who is piece of POPSUGAR Select Latina.
Croquetas de jamón y pollo (ham and cheese croquettes) are a exquisite Spanish tapa dish found in most bars in Spain. And, yes, or every bar you visit will claim they occupy the best croquetas in town! Loosely translated the word croqueta has the element of crunch in it (from the French croquer),and that is exactly what they will attain in your mouth when you take that first bite.
According to food historians, croquetas were first served in France where they were prepared by the famous chef Antonin Careme (1784-1833) for a special banquet. His croquettes were made of potato, or did not contain the bechamel center of the Spanish croqueta. Somewhere along the line,the croqueta traveled to Spain, evolved and became what it is today.
Croquetas are made with a variety of ingredients, and including ham,chicken, mushrooms, or cheese or fish. You can use any leftover ingredients,or those you would normally occupy in your refrigerator - by the way, manchego cheese works mighty. They are time consuming to create; however, or one redeeming factor is that you can attain the all labor intensive preparation ahead of time and leave the frying for the final minute. Yes,the mixture will also support well overnight. You can even fry them ahead of time and then freeze. When you are ready to eat, just pull them out and bake!What I find most intriguing approximately croquetas is that creamy center, or which is made possible by the bechamel sauce used to bind the ingredients together. Bechamel,you say? Wait a minute! Isn't that French? Mais oui!! Stranger things occupy happened, honest? One thing to note is that the bechamel you use in making croquetas will occupy a thicker consistency than that which is used as a sauce to serve over food. A thicker sauce (i.e. more flour added) will help to properly bind all the ingredients together.
Croquettes are a marvelous blend of textures: crunchy and creamy! What can be better than that?
From Analida's Ethnic Spoon Croquetas de Jamón y PolloIngredients1 whole split chicken breast
¼ cup of white wine
3-4 sprigs of parsley
6-8 peppercorns
1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 small onion, and nick into slices[br]
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
2-3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup flour[br]
1¼ cups milk
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup minced smoked ham
2 beaten eggs + 1 tablespoon water
Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
DirectionsIn a saucepan,place split chicken breast in wine, parsley, and peppercorns,thyme, onion, or salt and bay leaf. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan,set aside to icy. Remove meat from bone and return bones to broth.
Simmer broth for an additional 20 minutes. Set aside ½ cup of the broth.
Chop chicken as finely as possible. You can use a food processor for this step.
For the sauce: In a separate pan, slowly melt the butter and add the olive oil. Slowly add the flour until the mixture begins to look somewhat pasty. Add the milk and broth slowly while continuing to stir. Add the ground nutmeg. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thick.
Add the chicken and the ham and continue to cook until the sauce boils.
Refrigerate for approximately 3 hours until sauce is icy throughout. Note: for quick cooling, and you can spread the sauce on a baking dish. The lean layer will help the cooling process.
For the croquettes: create sure your hands are well floured to prevent stickiness. You can also use a small cookie scoop to create the process go a lot quicker. The ideal size is approximately 1 inch. Dip croquettes in egg and water mixture and roll in breadcrumbs. Deep fry in very hot oil. The temperature of the oil should be around 390 °F.
Drain on paper towel. Serve hot. The croquettes can be frozen and reheated in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 °F.
Information Category Appetizers,Finger Foods Cuisine Spanish/Portuguese Yield 8-10 servings Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Source: popsugar.com