I must admit that even though I love Australia, I often miss Europe. I was born and brought up in Milan, which is practically in the middle of Europe. By car, you can get to Switzerland in 30 minutes, to the South of France and Austria in 3 hours and in 5 hours you are in Munich! And now, with low cost flights, you have even more options! If you have a long weekend, you are spoilt for choices! I miss being able to visit another country so easily… experiencing another culture, a different language and the local food is such a great feeling. Since I cannot do this so frequently anymore, I let my taste buds travel. Today I will take them (and you!) to one of my favourite countries: Spain, with these delicious Croquetas de Jamón Serrano. They are béchamel based croquettes with Serrano Ham: soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside! They are a fantastic tapa to serve with a good glass of wine! Enjoy and… buen provecho!
Croquetas de Jamón Serrano
Croquetas de Jamón Serrano - soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, a delicious tapa.
Ingredients
- 250 gms – 9 oz. Jamón Serrano sliced and chopped
- 1 lt – 4 cups milk
- 50 gms – 3 ½ tbsp butter
- 70 gms – 2/3 cup flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- Flour
- 1 egg beaten
- Breadcrumbs
- Mayo
- Spanish paprika
Instructions
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Put the chopped Jamón Serrano and the milk in a saucepan and cook it for 15 minutes.
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When ready, drain the Jamón Serrano and keep it aside. Use the Jamón Serrano infused milk to make your croquettes.
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Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the extra virgin olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the butter and once it’s melted, add the flour and stir well. Then add the milk little by little and stir until well combined. Cook for 10 minutes.
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Let it cool down and keep it in the fridge overnight.
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The next day, shape the croquettes. Coat them with flour, roll them into the beaten eggs and then coat them with breadcrumbs.
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Deep fry the croquettes in hot vegetable oil until golden brown, drain and put them on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil. Serve warm with some mayo mixed with Spanish paprika on the side.
Look amazing Manu:)
Un abbraccio!
Australia is sort of like Europe, in Canberra it’s only a short drive into Country NSW and slightly longer into country Victoria. Like Europe the regional differences in Australia are stark especially with the various dialects of Strine. I discovered in my recent vanilla slice crawl through southern NSW and country Victoria just how many variations you can get.
Seriously though, you’re right, we are a long way from distinctive language and culture groups. I think it’s one of the good things of having lots of people from other countries come and visit and settle in Australia.
Your croquettes recipe is making my mouth water 🙂
Hahahahahahaha LOVED your comment, Gary! 🙂
I miss Europe for the same reasons, so may countries just a drive away. These croquettes look so good, I’m going to try your recipe.
I miss Europe, too! The great thing about food is that it gives us a chance to remember and relive those experiences (if only vaguely) through taste memories. And I have to say, there’s a wonderful tapas place nearby that makes exquisite Spanish croquetas, I love the ones with jamón; the ones with chicken aren’t too shabby, either!
Looks absolute delicious. Jamon is the food I miss most from Europe. Over in spain jamon is everywhere, and even free with any beer in Granada.